On September 5, Trump signed an executive order that informally renamed the Department of Defense to the Department of War.
Trump had signaled during his second term an interest in changing the name to the original version from 1789, criticizing the Defense Department name as not fully reflective of its priority — winning wars. He told reporters Friday that he finalized the decision after “talking about it for months” and asserted the original name was only changed because the government at the time went “woke.”
NBC News
Trump was joined by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. As the order is informal, only making the Department of War a secondary title, with Hegseth being able to use it in correspondences and public communications. He enthusiastically implemented the quasi-name change, as seen in Defense Department communications. He used political language, which mirrors Trump’s rhetoric of “America is back,” to praise the name change, stating, “So this War Department, Mr. President, just like America, is back.”
The name change runs contrary to Trump’s pledge to keep the United States out of armed conflict. The implications of Trump deeming former President Harry Truman’s decision to use the name Department of Defense as “woke,” are disturbing; Truman desegregated the military. Trump’s historical ignorance is also on full display, as Truman was a wartime President who aimed to achieve a full military victory in the Korean War. The notion of “winning wars” did not die with the last name, as the United States won several wars after the Defense Department received its modern name, such as its invasion of Grenada and the First Gulf War.
This action is purely performative. It does not offer a roadmap to modernize military strategy, tactics, logistics, and equipment.
