Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, introduced an amendment to a defense budget bill to codify the name change of the Department of Defense to the Department of War. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
The House Armed Services Committee voted to codify the name change of the Department of Defense to the Department of War.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in September to change the name, but without congressional approval, it’s still officially the Department of Defense.
The vote in the committee to adopt the amendment to its annual defense policy bill was along party lines, with Republicans voting for it and Democrats against. It was introduced by Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas.
“American exceptionalism is back! During tonight’s @HASCRepublicans NDAA markup, my amendment to RESTORE the name and legacy of the Department of War passed. Proud to deliver on this priority and advance policies that put America First!!” Jackson posted on X.
Late Thursday, Jackson displayed a new Pentagon logo with the name.
“Now that you can see firsthand how beautiful it actually is, you will have no choice, [but] to vote for this amendment,” Jackson said.
Democrats argued against it.
“I really think this is one of the dumbest things that has been done by this administration,” said Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the ranking member of the committee.
Smith reposted a tweet by the House Armed Services Democrats on X that he offered a $200 million tax increase to fund the Department of Defense, but then withdrew “it in the face of the Trump Admin’s $1.15 trillion defense budget in the face of $4 trillion in national debt and while gutting health care, education, and food assistance programs.”
“If you don’t want to raise taxes, OK, but then get the hell out of here with the over $1 trillion defense budget,” the post said.
The Pentagon asked Congress in late April to codify the name, saying it would cost about $52 million and would not significantly impact the $1.15 trillion defense budget request.
But the Congressional Budget Office in its January report said the name change could cost up to $125 million, The Hill reported.
President George Washington created the Department of War in 1789. President Harry Truman in 1947 changed the name to the Department of Defense when it consolidated the Air Force, Navy and Army under the department.
This week in Washington
President Donald Trump discusses renovations to the Lincoln Reflecting Pool and makes an announcement on coal in the Oval Office at the White House on Thursday. Photo by Samuel Corum/UPI | License Photo
