Comment Dept. of War? (Score 4, Informative) 33
The appeals court stated in it's ruling "the Department of War secures ...." I'm surprised they used the name Dept. of War. My understanding was that it's still the Dept of Defense until Congress changes the name, regardless of what Kegseth says. For the appeals court to use that term in a legal document says more about the person that wrote that opinion.
"Only Congress has the authority to formally and permanently change the name of a US Cabinet department, as these departments are established by statute. While a president can use an executive order to assign a secondary or colloquial name to an agency, they cannot legally change its official statutory title without Congressional action"