Is Fort Bragg getting another name change? It’s possible.
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Congress renamed Fort Bragg to Fort Liberty in 2023, costing taxpayers $6–8 million.
- In 2025, the base was renamed back to Fort Bragg.
- The House defense bill would rename Fort Bragg back to Fort Liberty.
Good morning! It’s Danielle Battaglia with the latest edition of Under the Dome focused on the Trump administration.
I hope all of you had a great Fourth of July weekend!
Let’s talk today about Fort Bragg and its name.
If you’ve been keeping up, Fort Bragg, in Fayetteville, originated as Camp Bragg in 1918.
It was given its current moniker in 1922.
The name had a good 101-year run until Congress directed Fort Bragg to be renamed Fort Liberty in 2023, trying to separate the base from the Confederate Army general who was its namesake. Making this change cost taxpayers somewhere between $6 million and $8 million.
The installation was originally named after Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg. A quick Google search will tell you that not only did he fight on the losing side of the Civil War, he was also really bad at his job. If you want to deep dive that, Politifact has you covered.
But as President Donald Trump campaigned in the 2024 election, he promised if he was reelected he would change the base back to Fort Bragg.
Trump kept his word and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced in February 2025 that Fort Bragg’s name was returned — but now named after Pfc. Roland L. Bragg, an Army paratrooper who comes with a lot less baggage and also saved lives.
That brings us to this week. On Tuesday, the House attempted to vote on the National Defense Authorization Act, an annual bill that lays out the budget, expenses and policies for the Department of Defense.
And tucked away on page 1,431 of 1,614 pages is a provision to rename Fort Bragg back to Fort Liberty.
I have no take on what the name should be — I’m Switzerland. Our news partner, ABC 11, broke the story and talked with people who have a lot better idea than I do on what the name should be.
Rep. Marilyn Strickland, a Democrat from Washington, is behind the move.
Now, whether this iteration of the bill will pass has yet to be seen.
The provision is in the House version of the bill, but there is so much Republican infighting right now that lawmakers couldn’t get the bill to the floor for a vote this week.
Both the House and Senate leadership have sent their members home through July 13 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our country — and more than likely to get some time away from one another to collect themselves and start over for the two weeks they have left before their August recess.
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Thanks for reading Under the Dome
That’s all for today. We’ll be right back here on Tuesday.
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