Signs have been swapped out at the Pentagon. Social media pages have been updated. These are some of the early changes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday to rebrand the Department of Defense as the Department of War. Trump said it’s intended to send a message of “victory” and “strength” to the world moving forward, but it also echoes a previous era.The federal agency overseeing the U.S. Army was called the Department of War for more than a century and a half. In 1947, President Harry Truman signed legislation renaming and reorganizing the department to incorporate other branches of the military in the wake of World War II. “I think it’s a much more appropriate name, especially in light of where the world is right now. We have the strongest military in the world. We have the greatest equipment in the world. We have the greatest manufacturers of equipment by far,” Trump told reporters at Friday’s executive order signing. A formal renaming would require an act of Congress. Some Republican lawmakers have already introduced legislation to do just that, but Trump says he is moving forward regardless. The move prompted pushback from many Democrats on Capitol Hill. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, called it a “silly vanity stunt.” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, said it’s a distraction from more pressing issues, like troop readiness. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, has been critical of the president’s defense budget requests to Congress in the past. He seemed to allude to that in a social media post on Friday. “If we call it the Dept. of War, we’d better equip the military to actually prevent and win wars. Can’t preserve American primacy if we’re unwilling to spend substantially more on our military than Carter or Biden. ‘Peace through strength’ requires investment, not just rebranding,” McConnell wrote. The Trump administration didn’t immediately respond to emailed questions about how much the rebranding effort is expected to cost the federal government. “We know how to rebrand without having to go crazy,” Trump said when asked about the price tag. Critics argue it could also cost the U.S. on the world stage, potentially allowing adversaries to portray America as aggressive and a threat to international stability.It comes as Trump is actively pursuing complicated peace deals in an effort to end the Israel-Hamas war and the Russia-Ukraine war. Trump has already taken credit for resolving other armed conflicts. Asked how he squares his diplomatic focus with the War Department rebrand, Trump said, “Well, I think I’ve gotten peace because of the fact that we’re strong.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who is now going by “Secretary of War,” said the department is “going to go on offense, not just on defense, maximum lethality, not tepid legality: violent effect, not politically correct.” The messaging comes after a show of force from the Trump administration earlier this week. The president ordered the destruction of a boat off the coast of Venezuela that he said was carrying gang members and drugs. “Pay attention,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, wrote on social media. “The insecure, overcompensating war mongers around Trump — who convinced him to change the name of the Department of Defense — now seem to be trying to goad Venezuela into a war absolutely no one wants.”
Signs have been swapped out at the Pentagon. Social media pages have been updated.
These are some of the early changes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday to rebrand the Department of Defense as the Department of War.
Trump said it’s intended to send a message of “victory” and “strength” to the world moving forward, but it also echoes a previous era.
The federal agency overseeing the U.S. Army was called the Department of War for more than a century and a half. In 1947, President Harry Truman signed legislation renaming and reorganizing the department to incorporate other branches of the military in the wake of World War II.
“I think it’s a much more appropriate name, especially in light of where the world is right now. We have the strongest military in the world. We have the greatest equipment in the world. We have the greatest manufacturers of equipment by far,” Trump told reporters at Friday’s executive order signing.
A formal renaming would require an act of Congress. Some Republican lawmakers have already introduced legislation to do just that, but Trump says he is moving forward regardless.
The move prompted pushback from many Democrats on Capitol Hill. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, called it a “silly vanity stunt.” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, said it’s a distraction from more pressing issues, like troop readiness.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, has been critical of the president’s defense budget requests to Congress in the past. He seemed to allude to that in a social media post on Friday.
“If we call it the Dept. of War, we’d better equip the military to actually prevent and win wars. Can’t preserve American primacy if we’re unwilling to spend substantially more on our military than Carter or Biden. ‘Peace through strength’ requires investment, not just rebranding,” McConnell wrote.
The Trump administration didn’t immediately respond to emailed questions about how much the rebranding effort is expected to cost the federal government.
“We know how to rebrand without having to go crazy,” Trump said when asked about the price tag.
Critics argue it could also cost the U.S. on the world stage, potentially allowing adversaries to portray America as aggressive and a threat to international stability.
It comes as Trump is actively pursuing complicated peace deals in an effort to end the Israel-Hamas war and the Russia-Ukraine war. Trump has already taken credit for resolving other armed conflicts.
Asked how he squares his diplomatic focus with the War Department rebrand, Trump said, “Well, I think I’ve gotten peace because of the fact that we’re strong.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who is now going by “Secretary of War,” said the department is “going to go on offense, not just on defense, maximum lethality, not tepid legality: violent effect, not politically correct.”
The messaging comes after a show of force from the Trump administration earlier this week. The president ordered the destruction of a boat off the coast of Venezuela that he said was carrying gang members and drugs.
“Pay attention,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, wrote on social media. “The insecure, overcompensating war mongers around Trump — who convinced him to change the name of the Department of Defense — now seem to be trying to goad Venezuela into a war absolutely no one wants.”