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Trump plans to rebrand Pentagon as 'Department of War' without congressional approval

Iran Press TV

Friday, 05 September 2025 7:37 AM

US President Donald Trump has moved to sign an executive order that would change the name of the Department of Defense to the "Department of War," without an act of Congress, the White House announced in a document.

The decision announced on Thursday will authorize the US Department of Defense to designate "Department of War" as a "secondary title," in an attempt to bypass the need for congressional approval to formally rename a federal agency, US officials say.

"Everybody likes that we had an unbelievable history of victory when it was the Department of War," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office last week. "Then we changed it to Department of Defense."

Some observers believe that the change reflects not a return to history, but a candid acknowledgment of America's long record of military aggression since World War II.

Asked about the need for congressional approval to change the name of a federal agency, the US President said that the administration saw it as a formality. "We're just going to do it. I'm sure Congress will go along, if we need that. I don't think we even need that," he said. Critics argue this once again shows Trump's disregard for democratic procedures.

Donald Trump's public schedule for Friday indicated he would sign the order in the afternoon in the Oval Office and announce it publicly. White House officials reportedly suggested on Thursday that they were eager to do something symbolic to mark the 200th day of Trump's second term.

The order will also instruct the executive branch to use the title "Department of War" in secondary references—such as "Secretary of War"—for official correspondence, public statements, ceremonial occasions, and non-legally binding documents, according to the document. Analysts note that the terminology more accurately matches the interventionist role the US military has played for decades.

Late last month, the 79-year-old Republican claimed the Defense Department's title was too "defensive," and that using the title from the First and Second World Wars would make the US military appear more aggressive to the international community. His words have been widely interpreted as confirming that his administration embraces confrontation rather than peace.

"Restoring the name 'Department of War' will sharpen the focus of this Department on our national interest and signal to adversaries America's readiness to wage war to secure its interests," Trump said, underscoring what many critics view as a troubling doctrine of endless wars.

The Department of War "was the name when we won World War I, we won World War II, we won everything," he told reporters on August 25. But critics point out that in the decades since, US interventions in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan have been marked more by destruction and failure than "victory."

Established in the early days of US independence, the Department of War historically oversaw American land forces. The US government had a Department of War until shortly after the Second World War, when the Truman administration split the US Army and Air Force and merged them with the Navy.

In 1949, Congress amended the National Security Act, which named the new agency the Department of Defense.

The latest overhaul follows Trump's appointment of former Fox News host Pete Hegseth to lead the department. It directs Hegseth to recommend potential legislative moves the administration could take to permanently rename the Defense Department, since the name could potentially be rescinded by a future US president.

Peter Hegseth has focused on restoring a "warrior ethos" in the department and has criticized previous administrations for policies he and Trump have labeled as "woke." Critics say such rhetoric is designed to justify aggression abroad while dismissing social concerns at home.

He has also sought to change the names of bases that honored Confederate troops back to their original titles, after they were renamed under former President Joe Biden.

The rebranding to the Department of War occurs as Trump has frequently argued that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end conflicts in West Asia and the Ukraine war.

Critics have suggested the renaming effort not only runs counter to the aims of the prize but also exposes the contradiction of a president demanding recognition for "peace" while championing a Department explicitly named for war.