US President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Friday to rename the Department of Defence as the Department of War, according to reports from US media citing White House officials.
The move revives the historic title and signals a shift toward a combat-oriented identity for America’s armed forces.
The White House stated that the renaming would ‘restore historical clarity’ and reinforce a ‘warrior mindset’ within the military.
Previewing the move last month, President Trump told reporters, “We call it the Department of Defence, but between us, I think we’re gonna change the name. We won World War I, World War II, it was called the Department of War, and to me, that’s really what it is.”
The Department of War was established in 1789 to oversee military affairs. It retained that name until 1947, when President Harry Truman’s National Security Act reorganised the military, creating a unified structure for the Army, Navy, and newly formed Air Force.
In 1949, Congress renamed it the Department of Defence to reflect a post-war focus on national security and deterrence.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has endorsed Trump’s initiative, saying, “We won WWI and WWII not with the Department of Defence, but with a War Department. We’re not just defence, we’re offence. We’re re-establishing the warrior ethos.”
The executive order will direct Hegseth to propose legislative measures to make the change permanent.
Immediate steps include updating Pentagon signage, official websites, and communications to reflect the new name. On Thursday, Hegseth reposted a Fox News update about the plan with the comment, ‘DEPARTMENT OF WAR’.
This renaming aligns with Trump’s broader second-term military reforms, including reversing previous decisions on base and ship names.
Hegseth has already reinstated titles once removed under Joe Biden’s administration and ordered the renaming of an oiler ship formerly named after gay rights activist and Navy veteran Harvey Milk.
While the order takes effect immediately for administrative purposes, a full legal name change will still require Congressional approval. The move underscores the administration’s emphasis on a more offensive posture for the US military.
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