President Donald Trump has directed that the U.S. Department of Defence be rebranded as the “Department of War,” a move the White House says is aimed at projecting strength and resolve.
According to a White House document released Thursday, the change will not alter the department’s legal name, which is set in law, but will allow the use of “Department of War” as a secondary title.
Officials will be permitted to adopt terms such as “Secretary of War” in correspondence, public communications, and ceremonial events.
Trump, 79, has repeatedly argued in recent weeks that the current name sounds too passive.
“It was called the Department of War when we won World War I, we won World War II, we won everything,” he told reporters in August. The new label, the White House said, “conveys a stronger message of readiness and resolve.”
The executive order authorising the change is expected to be signed Friday during a ceremony at the Oval Office.
The Defence Department, originally established as the Department of War in the 18th century, was reorganised after World War II into the National Military Establishment, before being renamed the Department of Defence in 1949.
White House officials say reviving the old name underscores the administration’s emphasis on military assertiveness.
“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 document read.
The decision marks the latest shake-up at the Pentagon under Trump, who appointed former Fox News host Pete Hegseth as Secretary.
Hegseth, a combat veteran, has championed a “warrior ethos” in the military, criticising previous administrations for what he and Trump describe as “woke” policies.
Since taking charge, Hegseth has moved to bar transgender personnel from serving and has pushed to restore the original names of bases that were changed under former President Joe Biden to remove Confederate associations.