U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday to rename the Department of Defense as the “Department of War,” reverting to a title it held until after World War Two when officials sought to emphasize the Pentagon’s role in preventing conflict.
Trump’s move represented his latest effort to rebrand the U.S. military, which has included his decision to preside over an extraordinary military parade in downtown Washington, D.C., and to restore the original names of military bases that were changed after racial justice protests in 2020.
The Pentagon moved swiftly to change signs at the U.S. military’s five-sided headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, switching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s title on his door to “Secretary of War” and the title of his No. 2, Steve Feinberg, to the “Deputy Secretary of War.”
“It’s a very important change, because it’s an attitude,” Trump said as he signed the executive order at a ceremony in the Oval Office. “It’s really about winning.”
The move would instruct Hegseth to recommend legislative and executive actions required to make the renaming permanent.
Two Republican senators, Mike Lee of Utah and Rick Scott of Florida, and one Republican House member, Greg Steube of Florida, introduced legislation on Friday to make the change.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, introduced as the Secretary of War by Trump, cheered the change, which he has long advocated.
“We’re going to go on the offense, not just on defense. Maximum lethality, not tepid legality,” Hegseth said, adding that changing the name is “not just about words — it’s about the warrior ethos.”
