The White House has confirmed that US President Donald Trump plans to rebrand the Department of Defence as the “Department of War,” in what officials describe as an effort to project strength and resolve on the world stage.
According to a White House document released on Thursday, Trump will authorise the use of “Department of War” as a secondary title through an executive order. The measure would permit defence officials to employ the historic label in “official correspondence, public communications, ceremonial contexts, and non-statutory documents within the executive branch.”
Although the department’s official title is enshrined in law, the administration said the rebrand was intended to “convey a stronger message of readiness and resolve” and align the Pentagon more closely with its wartime mission. It was not immediately clear when Trump would sign the order, though his public schedule included an afternoon signing ceremony and a separate announcement from the Oval Office.
Trump has hinted at such a move for weeks. Speaking to reporters in late August, the 79-year-old Republican argued that the current title was “too defensive.” “It was the Department of War when we won World War I, we won World War II, we won everything,” he said at the time.
The Department of War was among the earliest executive departments established after US independence, overseeing the Army until a sweeping post–World War II reorganisation placed it alongside the Navy and newly created Air Force under the National Military Establishment. That body was renamed the Department of Defence in 1949, a title that has endured for more than seven decades.
“Restoring the name ‘Department of War’ will 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 White House document stated.
The move marks the latest shake-up at the Pentagon since Trump took office in January, installing former Fox News host and combat veteran Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defence. Hegseth, who is expected to adopt the title “Secretary of War” under the order, has been a vocal proponent of restoring a “warrior ethos” in the military and has criticised previous administrations for what he and Trump call “woke” policies.
While the executive order could be undone by a future president, it also directs the Secretary of War to recommend further legislative and executive actions required to make the change permanent.
The proposal is likely to fuel debate in Washington, where supporters argue the rebrand underscores America’s global power, while critics may see it as a symbolic but provocative shift in tone at a time of mounting international tensions.
