Trump to sign executive order renaming Pentagon as Department of War

US President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on September 5 to revert the Department of Defense to its former title, the Department of War. 

Both Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have recently indicated their support for the change, which is being promoted as part of the administration’s "warrior ethos" campaign within the Pentagon, Caliber.Az reports via Fox News. 

A White House official confirmed on September 4 that Trump will formally roll out the name change on September 5. The order instructs that “Department of War” be used as a secondary title alongside “Department of Defense,” while Hegseth will also be referred to as “secretary of war,” according to a White House fact sheet.

The executive order further directs Hegseth to propose legislative and executive measures to make the name change permanent. Implementing the order will involve updating Pentagon signage, public-facing websites, and renaming the public affairs briefing room the “Pentagon War Annex,” officials said. Longer-term projects are also being planned.

Trump has hinted in recent days that the change was imminent.

“Everybody likes that we had an unbelievable history of victory when it was Department of War,” Trump told reporters on August 25. “Then we changed it to Department of Defense.”

Hegseth, whom Trump has already referred to at times as “secretary of war,” echoed the president’s views in a Fox News interview.

“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 on Septmber 3 on Fox & Friends. “As the president has said, we're not just defense, we're offense.

“We've reestablished at the Department the warrior ethos. We want warriors, folks that understand how to exact lethality on the enemy,” he added. “We don't want endless contingencies and just playing defense. We think words and names and titles matter. So, we're working with the White House and the president on it. Stand by.”

The Department of War was the name used for the US military agency until 1949, when it was replaced with the Department of Defense under reforms from the National Security Act of 1947.

It remains unclear whether Congress, which holds authority over the establishment of federal executive departments, will ultimately need to approve the change. Trump has suggested he does not require congressional approval but is confident lawmakers will support the move if needed.
“We're just going to do it,” Trump said on August 25. “I'm sure Congress will go along if we need that. I don't think we even need that.”

The order will mark the 200th executive order signed by Trump in his second term.

By Sabina Mammadli