President Donald Trump is planning to sign an executive order Friday renaming the Department of Defense to the Department of War, a senior administration official told NOTUS.
The renaming of a federal agency would require an act of Congress, so Friday’s executive order will restore “Department of War” as a secondary title, and direct Secretary Pete Hegseth to pursue legislative avenues to make the name permanent.
“The United States military is the strongest and most lethal fighting force in the world, and the President believes this Department should have a name that reflects its unmatched power and readiness to protect national interests,” an internal White House fact sheet obtained by NOTUS said.