Trump renames US Defense Department 'War Department'
U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Sept. 5 officially changing the name of the U.S. Defense Department to the U.S. War Department.
The order also changes U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's title to War Secretary.
"I think it's a much more appropriate name, especially in light of where the world is right now," Trump said.
Several news outlets reported on Sept. 4 that Trump intended to issue the order the following day. Ahead of the announcement, Trump and Hegseth had alluded to the coming rebrand, with Trump telling reporters on Aug. 25 that his administration is "gonna change the name."
The U.S. Defense Department was previously known as the Department of War. The title was changed after World War II, with "war" replacing "defense" in 1947. Trump claimed that this change was a result of U.S. officials being "woke."
Trump told reporters that the decision only impacted the U.S. and did not signal any policy changes in regards to American support for European-led security guarantees in Ukraine.
Despite the hawkish name change, Trump has hailed his role as a peacekeeper throughout his second term as president. He has repeatedly claimed to have ended multiple global conflicts and promised to resolve Russia's war against Ukraine.
Trump admitted on Sept. 4 that ending Russia's war has proven "a little bit more difficult than some of the others."
While August saw a flurry of high-level meetings and peace talks regarding the war in Ukraine — including the Alaska Summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin — the countries are no closer to a ceasefire and Putin still refuses to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
After signing the recent executive order — his 200th since taking office in January — Trump briefly returned to the theme of peacemaking.
"I'm gonna let these people go back to the Department of War and figure out how to maintain peace," he said.
