President Donald Trump will sign an executive order Friday directing the Pentagon to revert to its former name, the Department of War, and changing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s title to Secretary of War.
The order says the shift is meant to highlight the military’s offensive capabilities in “projecting power and resolve,” while underscoring its role in defending the United States and its interests.
“The name ‘Department of War’ conveys a stronger message of readiness and resolve compared to ‘Department of Defense,’ which emphasizes only defensive capabilities,” says Trump’s pending order.
It adds that the change would “sharpen the focus of this Department on our national interest and signal to adversaries America’s readiness to wage war to secure its interests.”
“The United States military is the strongest and most lethal fighting force in the world, and the president believes this department should have a name that reflects its unmatched power and readiness to protect national interests,” the White House noted further in a fact sheet.
The Pentagon, which replaced the War Department in 1947, can only use the revived name as a secondary title for now, since creating new Cabinet-level departments is a power reserved for Congress. The administration, however, can adopt the change in official communications.
Trump’s order instructs Hegseth to pursue legislative and executive steps to formalize the renaming. The president has said he is confident the process won’t be problematic.
“We’re just going to do it. I’m sure Congress will go along, if we need that. I don’t think we even need that,” he said this week.
