Trump to Rename Department of Defense as “Department of War”

WASHINGTON, Sept. 4, 2025 - President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Friday to rebrand the U.S. Department of Defense as the “Department of War,” a senior White House official confirmed Thursday, marking a dramatic reversal of a change made in 1949 under President Harry S. Truman.

The executive directive authorizes Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to begin using the alternate title “Secretary of War” in official documents and public engagements and directs him to propose legislative and additional executive measures to cement the renaming on a permanent basis. The White House fact sheet accompanying the order states the switch is intended to emphasize a more “offensive” military posture and to signal U.S. readiness to engage adversaries decisively.

Trump has long argued that the term “Defense” conveys passivity, contrasting it with what he calls the historic record of battlefield victories achieved under the old Department of War during World Wars I and II. Administration officials say the renamed agency will retain “Department of Defense” as a secondary label to facilitate the transition while signage at the Pentagon-including the public affairs briefing room-will be updated to reflect the “Department of War” nomenclature.

Legal experts note that any enduring change to the department’s statutory name requires congressional approval, and Republican and Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill have not yet weighed in on the plan. White House advisers, however, express confidence that lawmakers will ultimately acquiesce if formal legislation proves necessary.