Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth finishes installing a Department of War plaque at the Pentagon’s main entrance Nov. 13, 2025. (Madelyn Keech/U.S. Air Force)
WASHINGTON — The cost to implement the Department of War name change ranges from $10 million to $125 million, but it could rise to “hundreds of millions,” the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday.
The CBO assesses that making the change could be about $10 million for “modest implementation,” if it occurred within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, to increasingly higher levels for a “full-scale adoption.”
“CBO’s estimate is uncertain because [the Defense Department] has not provided information about how it plans to implement the order,” the budget office wrote in an 11-page letter. “Costs would be at least a few million dollars if [the Defense Department] phased in a minimal implementation, but they could be as large as $125 million if the name change was implemented broadly and rapidly throughout the department. A statutory renaming could cost hundreds of millions of dollars depending on how Congress and [the Defense Department] chose to implement the change.”
President Donald Trump in September signed an executive order instructing the Pentagon to begin using the name “Department of War” in official communications and to pursue actions that would permanently rename the Defense Department. The secondary title has not been approved by Congress.
The department’s website, social media accounts and some signage at the Pentagon have since been changed to reflect the renaming. In November, a new Department of War plaque was installed at the Pentagon’s main entrance for visiting VIPs.
The department did not provide a cost at the time. NBC News reported the cost could be as high as $2 billion.
A group of Senate Democrats in September called for a formal cost assessment of the president’s order.
Ten senators asked the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, or CBO, to come up with a price tag for adopting the new name, including the cost of changing signage, stationery and other department materials.
“The intensity of adopting the name change could range from very minor changes in letterhead and signs at the highest level to full-scale adoption throughout each organization, including changes to all name badges, parking permits, challenge coins, and promotional items, such as jackets and shirts,” the CBO letter says.
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., who led the charge to get the review, called the rename “performative government at its worst.”
“Simply put: Trump does not have the authority to rename DOD without an act of Congress. This move is performative government at its worst and does nothing to advance national security or help service members and their families,” Merkley said in a statement.
The final figure would likely hinge on the extent of replacement for signage, letterhead, name plates and digital coding related to the department’s many websites.