President Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Friday seeking to change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War, part of an effort to project the U.S. military as stronger and more powerful by restoring a moniker not used since the 1940s.
The Pentagon is currently referred to as the Department of Defense. A formal change would require approval by Congress.
The executive order will authorize Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to use the title Secretary of War and permit the Pentagon to begin using Department of War as a secondary title. During his Senate confirmation hearings, Hegseth said he wanted to “restore the warrior ethos to the Pentagon.”
And Hegseth hinted at the imminent name change in a post on X on Thursday night.
“DEPARTMENT OF WAR,” he wrote in all capital letters after plans for the order were reported by Fox News.
When did ‘war’ become ‘defense’?
The Department of War (also known as the War Department and War Office) was created in 1789 under President George Washington.
It existed under that name until 1947, when the Army and Air Force were split into separate military branches to join the then-independent Navy as a new entity called the National Military Establishment shortly after World War II.
It was renamed the Department of Defense by an act of Congress in 1949.
Why Trump wants to change it back
President Trump and Polish President Karol Nawrocki view a military flyover in D.C.. (Evan Vucci/AP)
According to a White House fact sheet obtained by CBS News, the Trump administration argues that the term Department of War “conveys a stronger message of readiness and resolve” and reflects its “unmatched power” as “the strongest and most lethal fighting force in the world.”
Trump has been talking about the potential rebrand for months. At a NATO summit in June, he suggested that the United States originally changed the department from defense to war to be “politically correct.”
“I don’t want to be defense only. We want defense, but we want offense too,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office late last month. “As Department of War, we won everything. We won everything. We’re going to have to go back to that.”
“Defense is too defensive,” the president said “And we want to be defensive, but we want to be offensive too if we have to be. So, it just sounded to me like a better name.”
Hegseth echoed Trump’s sentiment in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday.
“We won World War I, and we won World War II, not with the Department of Defense, but with a War Department, with the Department of War,” Hegseth said. “We’re not just defense, we’re offense.”
How much would a name change cost?
The Pentagon. (Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images)
As Politico pointed out, changing the official name of America’s largest government agency would not be cheap:
It would likely cost billions of dollars to change the names of hundreds of Pentagon agencies, their stationery, emblems, plaques and other signage at the Defense Department, along with bases around the world. The expense could put a serious dent into the administration’s efforts to slash Pentagon spending and waste.
Critics also said that it conflicts with Trump’s effort to brand himself as an anti-war president who has been openly lobbying for a Nobel Peace Prize and taking credit for ending multiple conflicts around the world.
“Trump is begging for the Nobel Peace Prize,” Rep. Darren Soto, a Democrat from Florida, wrote in a post on X. “This should cinch it for him right?”
What’s next?
On Friday, GOP Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Mike Lee of Utah introduced legislation — the Department of War Restoration Act — to formally change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War.
Rep. Greg Steube, a Republican from Florida, introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
“The United States military is not a purely defensive force,” Scott said in a statement. “We are the most lethal fighting force on the face of the planet — ready to defeat any enemy when called upon. Restoring the name to Department of War reflects our true purpose: to dominate wars, not merely respond after being provoked.”
“It should always be clear to anyone who would harm our people,” Lee added. “Americans don’t just play defense.”
