President Trump will sign an executive order on Friday renaming the Department of Defense as the Department of War, the White House said, fulfilling the president’s pledge to realign the mission of the armed forces by reverting to a name used for over 150 years until shortly after World War II.
The measure, which has been expected for some time, underscores Mr. Trump’s efforts to reshape the military to align with his goals of projecting a more aggressive image by showcasing war-fighting capabilities.
As Mr. Trump has sought to show strength, rather than the “wokeness” that he and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth claim clouded the military’s morale and mission under former President Biden, he has often referred back to the country’s dominant role in global conflicts and complained that it has not been celebrated enough.
Mr. Trump’s plan to sign the executive order was first reported by Fox News.
Mr. Trump first floated the idea in August in the Oval Office, saying it sounded “like a better name” and that he believed “we’re going to have to go back to that.” He said the name change would be a reminder of the country’s record of military victories under the old name, citing World War I and II.
“We had an unbelievable history of victory when it was Department of War,” Mr. Trump said.
“Defense is too defensive,” he added. “And we want to be defensive, but we want to be offensive too if we have to be.”
The month before Mr. Trump floated the idea, he referred to Mr. Hegseth as his “secretary of war.”
The Department of War was established by Congress under President George Washington in 1789, just months after the Constitution was ratified. The department oversaw the new nation’s military forces.
The name held for 150 years, during which the United States fought wars against Britain, Spain, Mexico and in the Philippines, as well as the Civil War and wars against Native Americans.
President Harry S. Truman changed the agency’s name as part of the National Security Act he signed in 1947, which merged the Navy and War departments and a newly independent Air Force into a single organization called the National Military Establishment. That operated under a civilian secretary of defense who also oversaw the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Two years later, Congress amended the National Security Act, and the National Military Establishment was renamed the Defense Department.
Mr. Hegseth has repeatedly teased rebranding the Pentagon with a new name, most recently telling “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday, “We won World War I and World War II, not with the Department of Defense, but with the Department of War.” In March, Mr. Hegseth even polled his followers on X on a name change.
Senator Rick Scott of Florida, a Republican and a staunch Trump supporter, said on social media that the change would reflect America’s “true capabilities to win wars, not just respond to them,” calling the U.S. military “the most lethal fighting force on the planet.”
Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey, a Democrat, pushed back. “Americans want to prevent wars, not tout them,” he said on social media.
The Department of Defense and the secretary of defense were named through acts of Congress, so it is unclear if Mr. Trump’s order will go into effect immediately. During his August remarks about the potential renaming, Mr. Trump said he was confident that it would stick.
“I’m sure Congress will go along if we need that,” he said, then added, “I don’t think we even need that.”
Eric Schmitt, Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Ashley Ahn contributed reporting.
Erica L. Green is a White House correspondent for The Times, covering President Trump and his administration.
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