President Donald Trump moved forward with his plan to rename the United States Department of Defense to the Department of War on this afternoon, signing an executive order that will designate “Department of War” as an official alternate title for the Pentagon.
“Pete Hegseth has been incredible with the, as I call it, the Department of War. You know, we call it the Department of Defense, but between us, I think we’re going to change the name,” Trump said during a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung last month.
In August, Trump first floated the idea of reverting the name of the DoD to what it was known as until 1949, as part of the administration’s efforts to return the United States military to its “warrior ethos.” The executive order called for using the name “Department of War” as a secondary title for the DoD, along with Hegseth holding a secondary title “secretary of war.”
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has supported the name change.
“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 in an interview last Wednesday with “Fox & Friends.”
“As the president has said, we’re not just defense, we’re offense,” Hegseth added. “We’ve reestablished at the Department the warrior ethos. We want warriors, folks that understand how to exact lethality on the enemy.”
At the same time, the Pentagon chief also maintained that the administration remains committed to keeping the United States out of so-called “forever wars,” such as the conflict in Afghanistan, from which Trump initiated the withdrawal of U.S. military forces during his first term.
“We don’t want endless contingencies and just playing defense,” said Hegseth. “We think words and names and titles matter. So, we’re working with the White House and the president on it. Stand by.”
Words Matter?
The Department of War was first established by President George Washington in 1789, as the cabinet department responsible for operations and maintenance of the United States Army. It also oversaw naval affairs until the establishment of the separate Navy Department in 1798.
From its founding, the War Department has been headed by the Secretary of War, a civilian who was charged with overseeing the responsibilities of finance and procurement. It is unclear whether Trump and/or Hegseth understand that the Secretary of War typically played a significantly lesser role in directing military affairs than the current Secretary of Defense.
Other nations had had ministries of war, with China and Japan respectively establishing such offices in the 7th and 8th centuries. Several European countries followed later, essentially as monarchs no longer led their armies into battle. The Ministries of War in nations such as France, Prussia, and later Germany, as well as Russia, oversaw the command and upkeep of their respective military forces and paid for their expenses.
The shift from “War” to “Defense” followed the Second World War for several reasons. First, it was to address inter-service rivalries as militaries expanded to include not only armies and navies, but also air forces. A ministry or department could more successfully manage all the branches of a nation’s military more effectively.
The second, and arguably bigger, reason for the change was due to the horrors seen in the First and Second World Wars, which saw hundreds of millions of people—military and civilian alike—killed. To emphasize that the military was to protect the homeland rather than engage in offensive warfare, the focus shifted to defense.
Trump has claimed that the old name was “stronger” and said that the current Department of Defense would seem to emphasize defense.
“Defense is too defensive,” he said. “We want to be defensive, but we want to be offensive, too. Seems much more appropriate.”
The suggested change will be the 200th executive order signed by the president during his second term. It remains unclear whether Congress, which has the authority to establish federal executive departments, would need to provide final approval; however, legal experts argue that a formal rebrand would require congressional legislation.
Sens. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) have championed the renaming legislation in the Senate, while Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) has taken the lead in the House. Whether it could pass both houses is still unclear, but Scott explained the decision to support the name change.
“The United States military is not a purely defensive force,” Scott said in a statement.
“We are the most lethal fighting force on the face of the planet — ready to defeat any enemy when called upon,” the senator from Florida added. “Restoring the name to Department of War reflects our true purpose: to dominate wars, not merely respond after being provoked.”
It Could Cost Billions
It is the latest name change within the DoD since Trump returned to the White House in January. Hegseth previously reversed a Biden-era decision that removed Confederate names from U.S. military bases. However, as that required an act of Congress, the names were changed to different individuals with the same name as the former Confederate officers.
More recently, Hegseth has ordered that several U.S. Navy support vessels also be renamed, including a fleet replenishment oiler that was named after gay rights activist and U.S. Navy veteran Harvey Milk.
Each of those name changes may sound easy, but it comes at a high cost. The Congressionally mandated Naming Commission, which changed the names of Army bases honoring Confederate leaders, was estimated to have cost at least $62.5 million.
The DoD is the largest federal agency, and a name change would require the reprinting of countless forms, letterhead, and other official documents. All building signs, plaques, and organizational emblems would need to be replaced. Digital platforms, including email addresses and URLs, require regular updates.
Such an endeavor would likely take years, beyond the remainder of Trump’s second term.
