A move is underway to rename the U.S. Department of Defense what it was called for nearly 160 years: the Department of War.
Various published reports are indicating that President Trump wants to see action on an idea he has previously entertained, which will most likely require Congressional approval.
In talking with reporters, the President said “You know, we call it the Department of Defense, but between us, I think we’re going to change the name. You want to know the truth, I think we’re going to have some information on that, maybe soon.”
“We had an unbelievable history of victory when it was the Department of War,” Trump continued.
In a statement, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly remarked: “As President Trump said, our military should be focused on offense – not just defense.”
Kelly said that evidence of the President’s interest is currently being seen in prioritizing warfighters at the Pentagon over policies that previously emphasized diversity and “woke ideology.”
The giant agency was officially launched as the Department of War during the presidency of George Washington. It stayed that way until the presidency of Harry Truman when the War Department was split into the Department of the Army and Department of the Air Force, thus creating a unified and officially named Defense Department.
Florida Republican Representative Greg Steube earlier filed an amendment to the latest fiscal year defense budget that would mandate the name change. How much additional support there may be in Congress for the move is not currently known.
September 2, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Department of War seal
