Donald Trump has signed an executive order rebranding the Department of Defense as the Department of War, making the original name a secondary title as a way to circumvent the need for congressional approval, an administration official said.
The directive, signed on Friday, reverts to the name used by the department from 1789 to 1947. Visitors to the Pentagon's defence.gov website are now automatically redirected to war.gov. “We won the first world war, we won the second world war, we won everything before that and in between,” Trump said at the signing. “And then we decided to go woke and we changed the name to the Department of Defense.”
The move comes days after a US navy airstrike killed 11 people on a small boat in international waters, which the military said involved a drug vessel operated by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Some legal experts questioned whether the strike was lawful under international law. The aggressive actions contrast with Trump’s repeated claims to be “the anti-war president” who campaigned on promises to end conflicts.
Seven US warships and one nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine have been reported heading for the Caribbean following Monday’s strike. Meanwhile, Republican Representative Greg Steube of Florida and Senator Mike Lee of Utah have introduced legislation to make the name change official, though permanent renaming would ultimately require Congress.
“We’re going to go on offence, not just on defence. Maximum lethality, not tepid legality. Violent effect, not politically correct,” said Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in the Oval Office. “We’re going to raise up warriors, not just defenders. So this war department, Mr President, just like America is back.”
