President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order Friday that will change the Department of Defense to become the Department of War, according to a report.
The “new” name will actually revert the department to its original name that was changed in 1949.
Fox News reported the name change has the support of both Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
“It is one of several initiatives the Trump administration has spearheaded as part of its ‘warrior ethos’ campaign within the Pentagon,” the outlet reported.
The executive order establishes using the Department of War as a secondary title for the Department of Defense. It includes a change in title to”secretary of war” for Hegseth, per a White House fact sheet.
The order also includes instructions for Hegseth to propose both legislative and executive actions to make the name permanent.
A change in name would also include changing websites and signage at the Pentagon.
The public affairs briefing room would become the “Pentagon War Annex,” a White House official said.
The change in name should come as no surprise since Trump has talked about it in recent weeks.
“Everybody likes that we had an unbelievable history of victory when it was Department of War,” Trump told reporters Aug. 25. “Then we changed it to Department of Defense.”
Trump has already referred to Hegseth as the “secretary of war.” Hegseth has said the change would reflect a cultural shift in the Pentagon.
“We won WWI, and we won WWII, not with the Department of Defense, but with a War Department, with the Department of War,” Hegseth said Wednesday on “Fox & Friends.” “As the president has said, we’re not just defense, we’re offense.”
“We’ve reestablished at the Department the warrior ethos. We want warriors, folks that understand how to exact lethality on the enemy,” he said. “We don’t want endless contingencies and just playing defense. We think words and names and titles matter. So, we’re working with the White House and the president on it. Stand by.”
The department’s name was changed in 1949 with the National Security Act of 1947.
As of now, it is not clear if Congress will need to have final approval for the change. Trump has said he doesn’t need approval from lawmakers. If necessary, Trump was confident Congress would approve it.
“We’re just going to do it,” Trump said Aug. 25. “I’m sure Congress will go along if we need that. I don’t think we even need that.”
This executive order will be the 200th order Trump has signed this term.
