President Donald Trump has proposed renaming the Department of Defense to the Department of War, a move he believes better reflects the agency’s historical role in military victories. During a recent White House event, Trump hinted that the name change might occur within the next week or so, emphasizing that the new title would better reflect a more proactive and offensive stance in national security. He argued that the current name is overly defensive, and that the Department of War more accurately represents the agency’s capabilities and history of success in previous conflicts. Trump also expressed confidence that Congress would support the change if necessary, stating that the name shift would align with the agency’s historical legacy of winning major wars.
Trump’s comments were made during a speech where he praised Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, calling him ‘incredible with the, as I call it, the Department of War.’ Trump said that he was considering the name change as a way to honor the agency’s past successes and to better reflect its current mission. ‘We had an unbelievable history of victory when it was Department of War. Then we changed it to Department of Defense,’ he said. Trump also noted that the name change would allow the agency to embrace a more offensive posture, stating that ‘we want to be defensive, but we want to be offensive too, if we have to be.’ He argued that the new name would be more appropriate, as it reflects the agency’s historical role in winning major wars, such as World War I and World War II.
Despite Trump’s claims, the Department of Defense has not officially announced any plans to change its name. The agency’s website states that the Department of War was established in 1789 to oversee the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. Following World War II, the department was renamed the Department of Defense, a change that was made to consolidate military operations under a single civilian secretary of defense. The agency’s website also states that the name change in 1947 and the subsequent amendments to the National Security Act resulted in the establishment of the current Department of Defense structure, with the civilian secretary overseeing all military operations.