Trump to rename US Defense Department to Department of War, media reports
U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to issue an executive order on Sept. 5 to rename the Department of Defense to the Department of War, various U.S. media outlets reported, citing sources in the White House.
Trump, alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, alluded to the reported changes in recent weeks, with Trump telling reporters on Aug. 25 that his administration is "gonna change the name."
While the White House has not officially provided a rationale for the name change, Trump himself has alluded to historical connotations associated with the new name.
"We won the World War 1, World War 2 - it was called the Department of War, and to me, that’s really what it is," Trump said in his justification on Aug. 25.
"Everybody likes that we had an unbelievable history of victory when it was Department of War," Trump added. "Then we changed it to Department of Defense."
The U.S. Congress approved the department's current name in 1947, shortly after the end of World War 2, following the country's longstanding use of the Department of War namesake. It was not immediately clear as to whether Congress would need to approve the name change in a vote.
"I'm sure Congress will go along if we need that. I don't think we even need that," Trump previously said on a potential vote.
Amid the transition, Hegseth's title will likely be changed to secretary of war.
