00:05We're taking a closer look at what you had to say. This is Straight From You,
00:09where your comments and questions get fact-checked and answered. This week,
00:13we're clearing up a question that we see a lot. Why do we say Department of Defense and not
00:19Department of War? This week, we've gotten several comments about it. One viewer wrote
00:23that we should be using Department of War. Another said, Secretary of War, Craig, get it right,
00:28dude. I'm just filling in for Craig, but I got to stand up for my guy. He does have it
00:32right.
00:33Here's why we're still saying Department of Defense and Secretary of Defense.
00:37President Trump's September executive order did not legally rename the agency. What it did was
00:44authorize Department of War and Secretary of War as secondary titles that can be used in certain
00:50communications, like official correspondence, public statements, or ceremonial settings.
00:55But the same order also makes something clear. The statutory name did not change. In plain English,
01:03it is still legally the Department of Defense. Pete Hegseth is still the Secretary of Defense,
01:08unless Congress passes a law that changes that. So that's why we use those titles in straight news
01:14reporting. We default to the legal statutory name so viewers know exactly what agency and office we're
01:20talking about. And yeah, it's easy to see why people get confused. The administration can use
01:26Department of War in some communications and branding, so you may see both terms out there at
01:30the same time. There's also a practical issue to this. Cost. The Congressional Budget Office estimates
01:37a limited rollout of the Department of War branding could cost around $10 million. A full legal name
01:43change, if Congress ever approved it, could cost hundreds of millions. So the short version is this.
01:49Department of War is a secondary title. Department of Defense is still the legal name. And that's why
01:55we say it that way. All right, keep dropping comments, asking questions. We'll tackle the biggest ones next week.
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