Trump Moves to Restore Department of War Name

Clear Facts

• President Trump will sign an executive order to reintroduce ‘Department of War’ as a secondary title for the Department of Defense.
• Secretary Pete Hegseth will be directed to seek permanent legislative and executive actions for the name change.
• The executive order marks Trump’s 200th order in his second term.

President Donald Trump will sign an executive order to make “Department of War” a secondary title for the Department of Defense, returning to the agency’s historical roots.

Both Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have supported this move to reflect a renewed “warrior ethos” within the Pentagon.

A White House official confirmed that the order will be announced Friday and will direct Hegseth to propose steps, both legislative and executive, towards making the name change permanent.

The initiative also includes using titles like “secretary of war” for Hegseth, and updating Pentagon signage, such as renaming the briefing room to the “Pentagon War Annex.” More changes are planned over time.

“Everybody likes that we had an unbelievable history of victory when it was Department of War,” Trump told reporters on August 25.

Hegseth has embraced the “secretary of war” title and described the effort as a sign of a cultural shift in the military’s mindset.

“We won WWI, and we won WWII, not with the Department of Defense, but with a War Department, with the Department of War,” Hegseth said during an interview, “As the president has said, we’re not just defense, we’re offense.”

“We’ve reestablished at the Department the warrior ethos. We want warriors, folks that understand how to exact lethality on the enemy,” he added. “We think words and names and titles matter. So, we’re working with the White House and the president on it. Stand by.”

The U.S. used the “Department of War” title until 1949, when reforms led to its renaming under the National Security Act of 1947.

The executive order will be Trump’s 200th of his second term.

It is not yet clear if congressional approval will be required, but Trump stated confidence that lawmakers will support or are not needed for the change.

“We’re just going to do it,” Trump told reporters. “I’m sure Congress will go along if we need that. I don’t think we even need that.”

This decisive move by the Trump administration marks a return to tradition and emphasizes military strength for America’s future security.

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