Trump Says He Wants to Rename the Department of Defense

The president said the change could “be made in the next week or so.”

President Donald Trump in the Oval Office
Evan Vucci/AP

President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told reporters Monday that they were exploring changing the name of the Department of Defense — with the goal of renaming it the “Department of War.”

Hegseth, who joined Trump in the Oval Office on Monday, told reporters that the name change was “coming soon,” but didn’t provide much clarity on a timeline.

Trump criticized the current name of the department as not fully representing the country’s goals, adding that a name change could “be made in the next week or so.”