WASHINGTON D.C., (WHNT) — President Donald Trump is expected to sign several executive orders on Friday, one of which is expected to be the renaming of the Department of Defense, The Hill reported.
The Hill said on Thursday that Fox News first reported that Trump would sign an executive order on Friday to alter the name. The order will also change the title of Secretary of Defense to “Secretary of War.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted the new moniker on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In 1789, Congress established the War Department at the cabinet level to oversee operation and maintenance of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps.
In 1941, space constraints enrcouraged the Secretary of War and Congress to build the Pentagon. Before this, the War Department workforce was in Washington, D.C. and numbered more than 24,000 civilian and military personnel, according to the Department of Defense website.
The Department’s name was formally changed to the Department of Defense in 1949 following the National Security Act being amended.
“The change rescinded the cabinet-level statuses of Army, Navy and Air Force secretaries and made them all subordinate to the secretary of defense, whose authority and responsibilities increased. The amendment also established a chairman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” the DOD website says.
Trump and Hegseth have talked about changing the name back to the Department of War, and Hegseth even created a poll on X, formerly known as Twitter, in March. The Department of War option won 54.3% of the vote.
So, Trump signs the executive order and it gets renamed. What does that mean for the general public?
It really has no impact to the general public. It does, however, mean the renaming and rebranding will cost the federal government a pretty penny, given the cost of changing signage, official documents and other items.
The name change will also not happen immediately, as Congress has to pass an act that formally changes the name.
Trump is expected to sign this executive order around 2 p.m. eastern and make an announcement from the Oval Office around 4 p.m. eastern, according to the President’s Public Schedule.
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