Trump to formally order renaming of Department of Defense to Department of War
WASHINGTON — President Trump will sign an executive order Friday restoring the Department of War name as a “secondary title” for the Department of Defense, a White House official told The Post Thursday evening.
Trump, 79, has argued in recent weeks that the old moniker “sounds stronger” and is “much more appropriate” for the Cabinet-level agency.
The order will instruct Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to propose legislative and executive actions to make “US Department of War” the official name of the DOD.
Hegseth will also be permitted to use the title “Secretary of War” in official correspondence, public communications, ceremonial settings and in non-statutory documents.
Federal departments and agencies must “recognize and accommodate” the new secondary titles in their communications.
The War Department was known as such from 1789 to 1947, when the Army and Air Force departments were split by an act of Congress to form the National Military Executive with the already-existing Navy Department.
The National Military Executive was dubbed the Department of Defense two years later, in 1949.
“The United States military is the strongest and most lethal fighting force in the world, and the President believes this Department should have a name that reflects its unmatched power and readiness to protect national interests,” read a White House fact sheet on the upcoming order.
The White House said the name change will project “strength and resolve” and advance Trump’s “peace through strength” mission.
The president complained about the current DOD moniker in the Oval Office last month.
“‘Defense’ is too defensive,” Trump argued. “We want to be defensive, but we want to be offensive, too if we have to be.”
On the name change, the commander in chief at the time teased, “We’re just going to do it. I’m sure Congress will go along if we need that.”
At least one lawmaker has already pledged to introduce legislation in support of renaming the Defense Department.
“I’m drafting a bill to restore the Department of War to its original name— the only name that captures the full range of America’s military capabilities,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) wrote on X last month.
“The executive order will mark the 200th Trump has signed since taking office, according to the White House.”