US President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order on Friday renaming the Department of Defense the “Department of War,” according to a White House official. The move, expected for weeks, would authorize Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Pentagon officials to use secondary titles such as “Secretary of War” and “Deputy Secretary of War” in official correspondence and public communications.
The order also directs Hegseth to recommend legislative and executive actions to make the renaming permanent, underscoring Trump’s intent to leave his mark on the government’s largest institution.
Historical Context
The Department of War was established by Congress in 1789 under President George Washington and remained the designation for 150 years. It oversaw US military campaigns against Britain, Spain, Mexico, the Philippines, Native Americans, and during the Civil War. Under President Harry Truman’s 1947 National Security Act, the Navy, War Department, and newly created Air Force were merged into the National Military Establishment. In 1949, Congress renamed it the Department of Defense, partly to signal a shift toward preventing wars in the nuclear age.
Trump and Hegseth have repeatedly invoked the historic name as symbolic of a “warrior ethos.” Hegseth recently told Fox News: “We won World War I and World War II, not with the Department of Defense, but with the Department of War.” Trump echoed the sentiment in August, stating: “Defense is too defensive. We want to be defensive, but we want to be offensive too if we have to be.”
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Political and Legislative Dynamics
While renaming a federal department requires congressional approval, Trump has indicated confidence that Republicans—who hold narrow majorities in both chambers—will not oppose the move. “We’re just going to do it,” he said last month. “I’m sure Congress will go along if we need that … I don’t even think we need that.”
One of Trump’s close allies, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, introduced legislation earlier this year to make it easier for presidents to reorganize and rename agencies. The executive order will also rename the Pentagon’s press briefing room the “Pentagon War Annex,” and update the department’s website, signage, and internal communications.
Costs and Criticism
Renaming the Pentagon will carry significant costs, requiring updates to signage, letterheads, and installations worldwide. The Army previously estimated that former President Joe Biden’s 2022 initiative to rename nine Confederate-linked bases would cost $39 million before it was reversed by Hegseth.
Critics argue that such expenditures are unnecessary when resources could be directed toward service members and diplomatic initiatives. Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, a military veteran, remarked: “Why not put this money toward supporting military families or toward employing diplomats that help prevent conflicts from starting in the first place? Because Trump would rather use our military to score political points than to strengthen our national security.”
Democratic Representative Andy Kim added: “Americans want to prevent wars, not tout them.”
In contrast, Republican Senator Rick Scott endorsed the change, saying it would reflect America’s “true capabilities to win wars, not just respond to them.”
The renaming effort continues a broader rollback of Biden-era policies. Earlier this year, Hegseth reversed the Pentagon’s base renaming initiative, reattributing names like Fort Bragg and Fort Hood to other historical figures instead of removing them entirely. Trump has consistently framed such reversals as a rejection of what he calls “political correctness” in the military.
Projecting a Warrior Identity
The executive order is the latest in Trump’s broader campaign to reshape US military identity around themes of strength and combat readiness. He has frequently lamented what he calls a lack of celebration of America’s military victories and has criticized his predecessors for “wokeness” undermining morale.
For Trump, the return to the Department of War symbolizes a restoration of martial identity. “We had an unbelievable history of victory when it was the Department of War,” he said last month. “To me, that’s really what it is.”
The push to rename the Pentagon has roots in Trump’s first term. Kash Patel, now FBI Director and formerly a Pentagon official, once used “Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Defense & the War Department” as his email signature. Trump also referred to Hegseth as his “Secretary of War” during Oval Office conversations in 2024.
With Friday’s order, Trump formalizes a move his administration has been hinting at for months, signaling both a symbolic and practical attempt to reframe America’s military posture from defense to war.