The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has informed Senator Jeff Merkley, the Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, that the Trump Administration's effort to rename the Department of Defense (DOD) could cost as much as $125 million. The proposed change would rename the DOD to the Department of War. According to CBO, unless Congress passes legislation to officially change the name, any executive order by President Trump would remain symbolic and unofficial.
Senator Merkley criticized this initiative: “Instead of prioritizing bringing down the cost of groceries or health care, Trump and his cronies are focused on vanity projects like renaming the Department of Defense to the Department of War – potentially costing American taxpayers upwards of $125 million,” said Ranking Member Jeff Merkley. “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 further commented: “Trump continues to make it clear that he has no interest in helping working Americans get ahead. He continues to claim that the affordability crisis we’re facing is a hoax, all while he wastes money renaming agencies and renovating the White House, covering it in gold. Meanwhile, working Americans are dealing with the repercussions of the Republicans’ Big, Ugly Betrayal law that makes families sicker and poorer while giving handouts to billionaires. It’s just more of Trump’s families lose, and billionaires win agenda.”
In September, Senator Merkley led nine other senators—including Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer—in requesting that CBO examine how much Trump's executive order would cost if implemented. The Department of Defense did not respond to CBO’s request for information about expenses already incurred for this project.
For context, average monthly benefits from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are about $187 per participant; using $125 million for SNAP instead could feed over 55,500 people for a year.
The full response from CBO is available online.
