This Act may be cited as the Respect the Chief Act of 2025.

(a) Initial report Not later than January 31, 2026, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the President and the congressional defense committees a report certifying compliance, during the preceding calendar year, with applicable requirements to update command and control leadership boards across the Department of Defense. (b) Subsequent reports Not later than 120 days after the inauguration of a new President or the confirmation of a new Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the President and the congressional defense committees a report certifying that all command and control leadership boards across the Department of Defense have been updated to reflect the current Commander-in-Chief and other applicable leadership changes. (c) Congressional defense committees defined In this section, the term congressional defense committees has the meaning given the term in section 101(a)(16) of title 10, United States Code.