Ever since President Donald Trump announced that he is renaming the Department of Defense as the Department of War, he and Secretary of Defense have aroused controversy, particularly when they have tried to casually use the moniker "Department of War" in official documents. Now a new report reveals the lengths to which they are going to make "Department of War" stick.
"The Pentagon is pressing Congress to keep measures in the annual defense policy bill that would formally authorize the name change from Department of Defense to 'Department of War,'" reported The Hill's Filip Timotija on Monday. He pointed out that Hegseth's spokesman Sean Parnell insisted "the president chose clarity over convenience" and that the new name is lawful because of Trump's executive order.
“This is a restoration, not an invention,” wrote Parnell, referring to how the Pentagon was referred to as the Department of War until 1949.
"The Pentagon’s insistence comes as both the House and Senate Armed Services committees adopted measures in their drafts of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would codify the department’s name change to one preferred by the Trump administration," Timotija wrote. "The amendment — put forward by Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), a staunch Trump ally — to formally rename the department was adopted during the June marathon NDAA session with a 29-27 vote."
If the Pentagon is renamed, it will cost the American taxpayers quite a bit. According to the Congressional Budget Office, it could add up to $125 million.
“Of course, a name alone does not make a military stronger. The name is a commitment, and the department must earn it every day,” Parnell told Politico in his statement. “Every acquisition decision, training exercise and strategic investment should answer one question: Does it make our warfighters more capable of defeating any threat?”
Parnell added, "From superintelligence and autonomous systems to advanced weapons and a revitalized defense industrial base, the United States must keep building the advantages to deter its adversaries and, if necessary, defeat them.”
Trump's decision to rename his cabinet department is reported as being unpopular among Defense Department employees, and it is hardly the only Trump-Hegseth policy to be greeted with a chilly reception by the armed forces. Even though Trump has banned transgender people from serving in the military, there are reports of transgender service people serving under the radar because their fellow soldiers refuse to out them. Retired members of the Pentagon have also decried Trump's war against Iran, describing it as far more costly than he has depicted it to the American people.