Trump Orders the Pentagon to Call Itself the Department of War

On September 5, 2025, Trump signed an executive order directing that the Department of Defense may be called the Department of War, and authorizing Pete Hegseth to use Secretary of War as a secondary title, with parallel titles for the deputy and under secretaries. The designations apply to official correspondence, public communications, ceremonial contexts and non-statutory documents. The order states that statutory references to the Department of Defense remain controlling until Congress changes them, requires the secretary to notify Congress within 30 days of which offices adopt the new names, and directs him to submit within 60 days recommendations for the actions needed to make the renaming permanent.

The department's title has been set in statute since the National Security Act of 1947. By adopting a secondary name by executive order while conceding the legal name is unchanged, the administration created a parallel branding layer usable across signage, letterhead and public messaging without a vote in Congress. The order is also a statement of doctrine, framing the department's purpose around warfighting rather than deterrence and defense.

The department began using the new name immediately in public communications. A permanent change still requires legislation, which had not been enacted when the order issued.