US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he wants to rename the Department of Defence and bring back its old title, the Department of War. Trump said that the earlier name “had a stronger sound” and better reflected America’s military power.
Speaking from the Oval Office during a joint press conference with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, Trump said the change could be announced within weeks. He also suggested that Congress may not even need to approve it. “We’re just going to do it,” he told reporters.
“When we won World War I and World War II, it was called the Department of War. And to me, that’s really what it is,” Trump said. He added that the current name, created in 1947 under President Harry Truman, came at a time of “political correctness.”
The War Department was first established in 1789 and oversaw the US military for more than 150 years. It was replaced by the Department of Defence as part of a major postwar restructuring.
Trump was joined at the press event by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has spoken about restoring a “warrior ethos” at the Pentagon. Trump said he dislikes the current name because it sounds weak. “What are we ‘defence,’ why are we ‘defence’? It used to be called the Department of War and it had a stronger sound,” he said.
Critics argue the change would be largely symbolic, but Trump dismissed that view. “I don’t want to be defence only,” he said. “We want offence too.”
Trump has hinted at this idea before. At a NATO summit in June, he even referred to Hegseth as his “Secretary of War.” He pointed to the old War Department building next to the White House as proof that the title once carried strength and pride.
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Shivam Verma is a journalist with over three years of experience in digital newsrooms. He currently works at NewsX, having previously worked for Firstpost and DNA India. A postgraduate diploma holder in Integrated Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, Shivam focuses on international affairs, diplomacy, defence, and politics. Beyond the newsroom, he is passionate about football—both playing and watching—and enjoys travelling to explore new places and cuisines.
