Kelly Joins Colleagues in Demanding Investigation into Trump’s Wasteful Use of Taxpayer Dollars on Renaming Department of Defense

Without action from Congress, Trump’s move to rename Department of Defense is unofficial

Today, Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) joined Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and other Senate colleagues in calling on the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to probe the cost of President Donald Trump’s recent executive order renaming the Department of Defense to the Department of War. The lawmakers requested this analysis because without action by Congress to pass legislation to legally rename the Department of Defense, the president’s executive order will be an unofficial designation for the department which will cause confusion, redundancy, and waste taxpayer dollars.   

“Given the Trump administration’s repeated emphasis on fiscal restraint […] this symbolic renaming is both wasteful and hypocritical. It appears to prioritize political theater over responsible governance, while diverting resources from core national security functions,” the senators wrote.   

In addition to Kelly and Merkley, Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ed Markey (D-MA), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) signed the letter.   

Read the full letter here.