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WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has signed an order reinstating the old name of the Pentagon to the War Department, claiming it better represents strength and victory.
Standing alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during the signing at the White House, the Republican leader called this change a powerful symbol, replacing the Department of Defense title that has been used for over 70 years. Trump described the current name as too “woke.”
“I believe it sends a message of victory,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office about the rebranding. “It’s a more fitting name given where the world is right now.”
The name harkens back to the original War Department, a title used for more than 150 years from 1789, shortly after American independence from Britain, until 1947, following World War II.
While Trump cannot legally change the Pentagon’s name without Congress, his order allows the use of the new label as a “secondary title.”
Former Fox News host Hegseth quickly embraced the move, sharing a video of a new nameplate reading “Secretary of War” being installed on his office door at the Pentagon. The veteran, appointed by Trump to lead a major overhaul of the department, said the change is “not just about renaming, but about restoring the warrior spirit.”
“Maximum lethality, not just legality. Effective force, not political correctness. We’re going to elevate warriors, not just defenders,” Hegseth stated.
Trump also seemed to suggest that America’s military setbacks since World War I and II are linked to the 1949 decision to rename the department the Department of Defense.
“We could have won every war, but we chose to be very politically correct—and I think ‘wokey,’” Trump said, as he marked his 200th executive order in his second term.
The rebranding aligns with Trump’s broader effort to project strength domestically and internationally during his second term under the “Make America Great Again” agenda. He has ordered a buildup of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean to counter drug cartels led by Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro. Earlier this week, U.S. forces conducted a strike that killed 11 individuals aboard a vessel believed to be involved in drug trafficking.
In June, Trump authorized a military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. He has also deployed the National Guard in Washington and Los Angeles in recent months, citing a crackdown on crime and illegal immigration.
The “War Department” move might conflict with Trump’s campaign to earn a Nobel Peace Prize, which he claims is justified by his efforts to resolve or end several conflicts—though he has given varying counts, saying either six or seven.
Democrats have dismissed the rebranding as an expensive political stunt. While the White House has not provided a specific cost estimate, U.S. media project that revamping the names, symbols, emails, and uniforms across hundreds of agencies could total a billion dollars.
A Pentagon representative told AFP that estimates will develop as the process proceeds, stating, “The cost will fluctuate as we implement President Trump’s directive to rebrand the department,” and promising a clearer estimate soon.
Trump had hinted at the announcement for weeks, criticizing the Department of Defense name as too “defensive” and suggesting it made America look weak.
Hegseth has also criticized previous administrations’ policies that he and Trump consider “woke,” including efforts to expel transgender troops and to revert the names of military bases that once honored Confederate soldiers, which were renamed under President Joe Biden.
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