President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Friday, restoring the historic “Department of War” as the secondary title to the Department of Defense, marking one of the most significant symbolic shifts in U.S. military branding since the 1940s.
The order directs the Department of Defense to adopt the “Department of War” designation in official and public communications, including using titles such as “Secretary of War” for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to Fox News.
This move is part of a broader “warrior ethos” campaign Trump and Hegseth have promoted within the military’s top ranks, signaling a push to reset the image of America’s armed forces.
Fox News was first to report on the expected changes, with the outlet writing that the order will require changes to “public-facing websites and office signage at the Pentagon,” including the renaming of the briefing room to the “Pentagon War Annex.”
Additional changes are reportedly under discussion, though details have not been released.
This move is not a surprise, as Trump hinted at the change weeks ago.
“Everybody likes that we had an unbelievable history of victory when it was Department of War,” he said in August, according to The New York Times. “Then we changed it to Department of Defense.”
Hegseth has also defended the change, saying during a Wednesday appearance on Fox & Friends that “we’re not just defense, we’re offense.”
“We’ve reestablished at the Department the warrior ethos. We want warriors, folks that understand how to exact lethality on the enemy,” Hegseth added, per Fox News.
“We don’t want endless contingencies and just playing defense. We think words and names and titles matter. So, we’re working with the White House and the president on it. Stand by.”
The “Department of War” guided American military operations from the nation’s founding until 1949, when the National Security Act reorganized the postwar defense structure into the Department of Defense.
Currently, it remains unclear whether the shift will require congressional approval. Legal experts note an executive order may face challenges, but Trump said he is not concerned about that.
“We’re just going to do it. I’m sure Congress will go along, if we need that. I don’t think we even need that,” Trump said, per The Guardian.