Alsobrooks, Van Hollen Introduce Department of Defense’s Cost of War Act

This legislation will require the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to pay the cost of changing the name of the Department of Defense to the "Department of War" from his travel budget.

September 18, 2025

WASHINGTON, DC - As reported in Politico's Morning Defense, Senators Angela Alsobrooks and Chris Van Hollen (Both D-Md.) introduced S.2848, the Department of Defense's Cost of War Act (DoD COW), which if passed will require the costs for the renaming of the Department of Defense to be deducted from the Secretary of Defense's travel budget.

The cost of changing the name from Department of Defense to Department of War in all internal and external communications could rise to hundreds of millions of dollars. Rather than appropriating millions of more dollars and wasting Americans' taxpayer money, this bill would force the department to take the money from the Secretary's travel budget first and then from the travel budgets of the military service secretaries.

"Taxpayer dollars for our national defense cannot be wasted by this Administration on meaningless vanity projects," said Senator Alsobrooks. "Americans are relying on us to build our military and support our servicemembers against real threats around the world. If the Trump Administration wants to waste money on this name change, they should use the Secretary's travel budget to do it."

"We should not be wasting taxpayer dollars to stroke Donald Trump's ego and whims, but that's what this latest dictate by the Administration would do - with zero benefit to our national security. That's why our bill requires that this wasteful Trump Administration endeavor not come at the expense of America's military readiness," said Senator Van Hollen.

For example, the cost of this change would be required to come from Secretary Hegseth's travel budget, and would be required to be detailed in a report.

The DoD COW Act includes:

1. A Sense of Congress that the Department of Defense was established by an Act of Congress, and its name can only be changed by an Act of Congress.
2. A provision directing the Secretary of Defense to pay the costs of the name change from his travel budget, and if the total costs of the name change exceed his travel budget, to pay the remainder from the travel budgets of the military service secretaries.
3. A reporting requirement due to Congress not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act detailing the total funds obligated and expended to pay for the name change.

Read the full bill text here.

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