President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday returning the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War, Breitbart reported. The president had previously hinted at this move, which would restore the original name for the agency to convey more about the mission.
Trump had signaled this could happen in earlier discussions and had referred to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as his "secretary of war." The new order directs Hegseth to make the necessary moves to make the name change permanent through not only the executive office, but also the legislative process as needed.
It will also apply the change to signage, letterhead, and other public mentions of what will now be the U.S. Department of War. One of those changes includes a briefing room becoming the "Pentagon War Annex" over its previously defanged "public affairs briefing room."
The move is meant to restore both the name and the original purpose of the agency, as Trump explained in remarks in August. "Everybody likes that we had an unbelievable history of victory when it was the Department of War. Then we changed it to Department of Defense," Trump noted.
Hegseth hinted at the change in a recent Fox & Friends interview on Fox News, explaining that it's a mindset shift as much as it is a renaming. "We won WWI, and we won WWII, not with the Department of Defense, but with a War Department, with the Department of War," Hegseth said.
"As the president has said, 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 continued.
"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," he promised last week.
The Department of War existed until 1949, when changes were made in response to the National Security Act of 1947, which changed the agency's moniker to the more vague and non-threatening Department of Defense. It remains to be seen whether Trump will need congressional approval for the name change, but the president believes he has the authority to make it happen.
"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 on Aug. 25.
After much speculation and several hints from the administration, Trump signed off on the order, which is his 200th since taking office. The move was celebrated by several conservatives, including Turning Point CEO Charlie Kirk, who shared video of the historic moment on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday.
"For his 200th official executive action as 47, President Trump officially restores the original name 'Department of War' to the Department of Defense. Pete Hegseth will now be referred to as the Secretary of War," Kirk captioned the post.
🚨 For his 200th official executive action as 47, President Trump officially restores the original name "Department of War" to the Department of Defense.
Pete Hegseth will now be referred to as the Secretary of War 🔥 pic.twitter.com/l6E3soEN9v
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) September 5, 2025
While the left will likely attempt to trivialize this, the renaming is in line with Trump's effort to return America and its institutions to prominence. On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order Restoring Names That Honor America's Greatness to "promote the extraordinary heritage of our Nation and ensure future generations of American citizens celebrate the legacy of our American heroes."
Trump's latest move sends the message that the U.S. will once again celebrate its history and legacy of great strength in war. The president is right that the offensive stance is vital to retain not only in the new name for the Department of Defense, but also in its mission if the U.S. hopes to remain a world superpower.
