The Department of Defense or Department of War?
President Trump Departs the White by National Archives and Records Administration is licensed under CC-CC0 1.0
On Sept. 5, President Donald Trump signed an executive order replacing the Department of Defense with the new Department of War.
He said, “we decided to go woke, and we changed the name to Department of Defense. So, we’re going Department of War.”
He is talking about the original name set back in 1789 when George Washington signed a bill into law creating the United States Department of War. That name lasted through the War of 1812, World War I, and until the aftermath of World War II. In 1947, the department was created and then named the Department of Defense in 1949.
The executive order describes no other actions besides the name change of the department and the secretary, as well as the procedure by which those will be carried out.
It states, “Within 30 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of War shall submit to the president, through the Assistant to the president for National Security Affairs, a notification for transmittal to the Congress of any office, executive department or agency, component, or command that begins using a secondary Department of War designation.”
Congress funds the department, so Trump cannot officially change the name without their approval, which could explain this passage in the order.
“The Secretary of Defense is authorized to use this additional secondary title — the Secretary of War,” and “All executive departments and agencies shall recognize and accommodate the use of such secondary titles in internal and external communications.”
The president can’t change the name, but using this second name, “loophole,” the department could possibly use the new name until it gets approved by Congress.
On Sept. 2, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and Rep. Greg Steube introduced a bill called “Department of War Restoration Act of 2025,” which preemptively supported the order.
The order says, “This recommendation shall include the proposed legislative and executive actions necessary to accomplish this renaming.”
Trump is interested in getting approval from Congress, but doesn’t seem to need it because the department had already changed the signage of its offices before Congress passed the bill.
On X, Lee said, “It is a better descriptor of what our Armed Forces do, or what they are supposed to do: wage war when necessary and defeat our enemies.”
The Department of Defense carried out multiple wars in the name of defense. Many Americans oppose the order even though it is a name change only. YouGov took a poll and found that 59% of Americans at least somewhat oppose the name change. Currently, America is not directly involved in any wars, so this new precedent could explain why Americans are opposed to this order.
