“Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has performed exceptionally in what I call the Department of War. Everyone calls it the Department of Defense, but I think we will change the name. If people want to know, we will make an announcement soon,” Trump said during a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung at the White House on August 25.
Trump argued that the U.S. Department of Defense was originally called the Department of War during World War I and World War II. “People appreciate that America has an incredible history of victories when this agency was known as the Department of War,” he added. The department was first established by George Washington, the nation’s first president, in 1789 under the name Department of War. The title remained until 1947, when President Harry Truman restructured the agency and renamed it the Department of Defense in 1949.
Trump previously referred to Hegseth as “Secretary of War” and praised the number of new recruits during his second term.
The president suggested that the renaming process could take place within the next week. However, such a move would require congressional approval, as the Department of Defense was created under longstanding legislation.
The proposed change reflects Trump’s desire to assert his role in addressing global conflicts while signaling U.S. military strength abroad. “I don’t want to just defend. We also want to attack,” he declared.
Earlier in March, Secretary Hegseth asked followers on his X account whether they preferred the Department of Defense or the Department of War, with most respondents favoring the latter.