United States: President Donald Trump is preparing to affix his signature on Friday to an executive order that will reawaken an old identity—transforming the Department of Defense back to its historic mantle, the Department of War, according to Fox News Digital.
Both Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have voiced their intent to steer this reversion, framing it as a cornerstone of their revived “warrior ethos” push within the Pentagon’s walls.
A senior White House aide confirmed Thursday that Trump will unveil the measure, outlining that the order will introduce “Department of War” as a formal secondary designation. The title “Secretary of War” would also be restored in reference to Hegseth, as detailed in a briefing sheet from the administration.
The decree further commands Hegseth to submit both legislative drafts and executive pathways to lock the title permanently into US law, ensuring that “Department of War” replaces the current title across all official platforms. This includes alterations to Pentagon-facing websites, office plaques, and the rechristening of the media hall as the “Pentagon War Annex.” Additional, longer-range initiatives are already being charted, an insider revealed.
Hints of this shift have been visible in recent weeks.
“We had an extraordinary legacy of triumph when it was called the Department of War,” Trump remarked to journalists on August 25. “Then it became the Department of Defense.”
Hegseth, already occasionally dubbed “Secretary of War” by Trump himself, mirrored the sentiment, portraying the name change as symbolic of a deeper cultural recalibration within the Pentagon.
“We prevailed in the First World War, and again in the Second World War—not under the banner of Defense, but with a War Department,” Hegseth explained during a Wednesday interview on Fox & Friends. “As the president reminds us, this is not about defense alone—it is offense.
“At the Department, we’ve reinstalled the warrior creed. We want fighters—leaders who know how to deliver decisive blows against adversaries,” he continued. “We don’t want perpetual stalemates and cautious shielding. Names matter, words carry weight, and this change reflects that reality. We’re aligned with the president and the White House—wait for the rollout.”
Historically, the United States operated under the Department of War title until 1949, when sweeping reforms of the National Security Act of 1947 reshaped it into the Department of Defense.
It remains uncertain whether Congress—constitutionally empowered to establish executive agencies—must formally sanction this renaming. Still, Trump has exuded confidence that he can act unilaterally and, if required, Congress will eventually acquiesce.
“We’re simply moving ahead,” Trump said on August 25. “If we need Congress, they’ll follow. But honestly, I don’t think we even need their hand in this.”
This impending directive marks the 200th executive order Trump has signed in his second presidential term.