Trump launches War Department rebrand without congressional approval

President Donald Trump issued an executive order Friday to rebrand the Defense Department as the Department of War, bypassing federal law as his administration enthusiastically adopts the throwback title while claiming it will be “secondary” in nature.

The president, appearing in the Oval Office, said he had been discussing the issue for some time with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and came to the conclusion that a change was necessary.

“I think it sends a message of victory,” Trump said. “We’re very strong. We’re much stronger than anyone would really understand.”

Hegseth and his team quickly embraced the move, with the former National Guard officer and Fox News personality characterizing it as the Trump administration’s latest effort to promote a “warrior ethos” at the Pentagon.

“We’re going to set the tone for this country: America first, peace through strength — brought to you by the War Department,” Hegseth said.

The Pentagon promptly followed suit, issuing a statement from chief spokesman Sean Parnell saying the change is “essential” because “winning wars” is central to the military’s “core mission.”

“While we hope for peace, we will prepare for war,” Parnell’s statement said. “Defense isn’t enough — we’ve got to be ready to strike and dominate our enemies.”

But the change is far from final. The Department of Defense name remains enshrined in law in a 1949 amendment to the 1947 National Security Act, landmark legislation that Trump’s executive order does not supersede.

The executive order states that the Hegseth may use “Secretary of War” as an “additional secondary title” and “may be recognized by that title in official correspondence, public communications, ceremonial contexts, and non-statutory documents within the executive branch.” The department itself also may use the new title in similar fashion, the order adds.

The Department of War was originally created by Congress in 1789 and signed into law by President George Washington. It survived until 1947, when Congress and President Harry S. Truman combined to overhaul U.S. national security in the aftermath of World War II. The War Department initially became the National Military Establishment with the passing of the National Security Act and was renamed again two years later as the Department of Defense.

An official name change — even secondary in nature — could come with a hefty price tag. The Pentagon said in a statement Friday evening that cost estimates “will fluctuate as we carry out President Trump’s directive to establish the Department of War’s name” and that a “clearer estimate” will be available at a later time. The message was attributed to a “War Department official.”

The blue seal of the “Department of Defense” is on hundreds of installations and government buildings across the globe. Official signage, stationery and publications across the services may also need to be overhauled, potentially costing tens of millions of dollars — a prospective strikingly at odds with the Trump administration’s zealous drive to cut costs and promote efficiency throughout the federal government.

Skeptics of the move pounced on the announcement, which was first reported Thursday night.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), a defense hawk who has turned critical of the administration’s stewardship of the Pentagon, indicated in a post on social media that the campaign rang hollow.

“If we call it the Dept. of War, we’d better equip the military to actually prevent and win wars,” the former Senate majority leader wrote. “Can’t preserve American primacy if we’re unwilling to spend substantially more on our military than Carter or Biden. ‘Peace through strength’ requires investment, not just rebranding.”

Pete Buttigieg, the transportation secretary under President Joe Biden and a Navy veteran, said in a social media post that it’s an “odd move from the president who worked so hard to convince his base that he was anti-war.”

Brad Bowman, senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said that American military supremacy has eroded as China “has sprinted to field combat forces that they hope can defeat the United States military in the Pacific.”