President Trump signs order to rename the Defense Department as the Department of War

Updated September 5, 2025 at 5:06 PM EDT

President Trump signed an executive order on Friday to give the Department of Defense a new name: the Department of War.

The change returns the department to a name that it carried for much of its history, until it became the Department of Defense in the wake of World War II.

Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said the rebranding reflected a new tone for the country and its military.

A White House fact sheet explains that under the executive order, the name "Department of War" will serve as a "secondary title" for the Department of Defense.

According to the fact sheet, the order will also authorize Defense Department officials to substitute the word "war" into their titles. For example, the Secretary of Defense could use the title Secretary o