President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday meant to rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War, signaling a continued effort to emphasize the strength and lethality of the U.S. military.
The Department of Defense moniker, President Trump said Friday, was "woke" and did not portray the U.S. military as intended.
"I think it sends a message of victory. I think it sends, really, a message of strength," President Trump said of the renaming.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday that with the change, the U.S. military would "go on offense, not just on defense,” using “maximum lethality” that won’t be “politically correct.”
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With the change, certain designators including Pentagon signage, the main U.S. military website and stationery and letterhead will take the new name. Sec. Hegseth has placed a new door plate on his office and changed his title on his social media profiles to "Secretary of War."
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) September 5, 2025
But a full formal change of name for the department would require a new law passed through Congress. It is not clear if there is sufficient political support in the legislature to enact such a change.
Earlier this week, Utah's Republican Sen. Mike Lee introduced a bill in the Senate to officially redesignate the Defense Department. Florida's Republican Rep. Greg Steube introduced a bill to do the same in the House.
The Department of War was first established in 1789, to maintain the U.S. Army.
It was split into the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force in 1947, as part of the National Military Establishment. In 1949, the collective military departments, including the Department of the Navy, were renamed as the Department of Defense.
