Trump executive order will rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is set to issue an executive order on Friday renaming the Department of Defense as the Department of War — a long-telegraphed move aimed at projecting America’s military around the globe.

It comes as some of Trump’s closest supporters on Capitol Hill proposed legislation that would codify the new name into law, with Congress having the sole power to establish, shutter and rename federal departments. Absent a change in law, Trump will authorize the Pentagon to use secondary titles.

“From 1789 until the end of World War II, the United States military fought under the banner of the Department of War,” Florida Republican Rep. Greg Steube, an Army veteran, said in a statement. “It is only fitting that we pay tribute to their eternal example and renowned commitment to lethality by restoring the name of the ‘Department of War’ to our Armed Forces.”

Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, are introducing companion legislation in the Senate.

The Department of War was created in 1789 and was renamed in 1947, two years after the end of World War II.

Trump has said he wants to change the name back to the Department of War because it “just sounded better.” The Republican president and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have long talked about changing the name, with Hegseth creating a social media poll on the topic in March.

Since then, Hegseth has hinted that his title as defense secretary may not be permanent at multiple public events, including a speech at Fort Benning, Georgia, on Thursday. He told an auditorium full of soldiers that it “may be a slightly different title tomorrow.”

In August, Trump told reporters that “everybody likes that we had an unbelievable history of victory when it was Department of War. Then we changed it to Department of Defense.”

When confronted with the possibility that making the name change would require an act of Congress, Trump told reporters that “we’re just going to do it.”

“I’m sure Congress will go along,” he said, “if we need that.”

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Associated Press writer Matt Brown contributed to this report.

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