President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have both said in recent weeks that they want the Pentagon to reclaim its old name. The move is part of the administration’s broader “warrior ethos” push to reshape the culture inside the building.
A White House official confirmed the announcement will come on Friday.
The order directs the government to start using “Department of War” as a secondary title alongside “Department of Defense,” and refers to Hegseth as “secretary of war,” according to a fact sheet.
The order also tells Hegseth to come up with ways — through legislation or further executive actions — to make the change permanent. That means tweaks to Pentagon websites, signage, and even renaming the press briefing room the “Pentagon War Annex.” Longer-term changes are also being planned.
🚨BREAKING: President Trump will sign an executive order TOMORROW renaming the Department of Defense the “Department of War”, restoring its original name.
Pete Hegseth will be the Secretary of WAR 🔥 pic.twitter.com/9Od5RlSzV3
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) September 4, 2025
Trump teased the shift last week. “Everybody likes that we had an unbelievable history of victory when it was Department of War,” he told reporters Aug. 25. “Then we changed it to Department of Defense.”
Hegseth, who Trump has already introduced as “secretary of war,” said the new title is about more than branding. “We won WWI, and we won WWII, not with the Department of Defense, but with a War Department, with the Department of War,” he told Fox & Friends. “As the president has said, we’re not just defense, we’re offense.
“We’ve reestablished at the Department the warrior ethos. We want warriors, folks that understand how to exact lethality on the enemy. We don’t want endless contingencies and just playing defense. Words and names and titles matter. So we’re working with the White House and the president on it. Stand by.”
More over at Fox News:
Trump to rename Pentagon, restoring historic ‘Department of War’ in latest military movehttps://t.co/9cERxkm9ss
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) September 4, 2025
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