President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Friday changing the name of the Department of Defense to the “Department of War,” a name not used since the 1940s. The order is part of his oft-stated push to enhance the image of American military power.
A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, outlined the renaming plans before the signing. He said the changes would include renaming the Pentagon briefing room to the “Pentagon War Annex” and altering the department’s website and signage. Fox News Digital first reported the plans.
Trump has long considered changing the department’s name, even as he boasts about his efforts to end wars abroad and claims to deserve a Nobel Peace Prize. He has repeatedly referred to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as “Secretary of War” on social media and asked his followers if he should rename the department.
“We won World War I, we won World War II, we won everything, and this seems more appropriate to me,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office last month. “Defense is very defensive, and we want to be defensive, but we also want to be offensive if necessary, so this name seemed more appropriate to me,” he added.
Hegseth shared Fox News Digital’s report on X, along with his division’s new name. He had hinted at the upcoming change during a speech at Fort Benning on Thursday, saying his role could “change a little bit tomorrow, we’ll see.”
Trump and Hegseth have sought to project a more muscular image from the Pentagon. Although the president has claimed to have ended at least seven wars, he has also launched several military strikes during his second term in the White House. These include bombing Houthi rebels in Yemen, attacking Iran’s nuclear program, and, most recently, attacking suspected drug smugglers on a motorboat in the Caribbean.
The president has also stirred controversy by mobilizing the military to strengthen immigration enforcement and border security, including deploying the National Guard—and authorizing it to carry its military-grade weaponry—as part of his control over the Washington, D.C., Police Department.
Trump has indicated that his efforts will not stop at the capital, where he has exclusive authority to oversee local guards, but could extend to other cities with Democratic mayors, such as Chicago and New York.
The president has expressed no concern that changing the official name of the Department of Defense would likely require a congressional resolution.
Last month, he said, “We’re going to do it, and I’m sure Congress will agree, and I don’t think it’s necessary.”
The National Security Act of 1947 merged the War Department, founded in 1789, with the Navy and Air Force departments into the National Military Establishment, headed by the secretary of defense. The new entity was renamed the Department of Defense by a 1949 amendment to the National Security Act.
Trump tasked Hegseth with rebuilding the military, which he said was significantly reduced under former President Joe Biden. His administration touted high enlistment rates as evidence of strong public support for his actions.