A vision of the Pentagon on December 13, 2024, in Washington, the president of DC, Trump said he would like to change the name of the Department of Defense of the Department of War.
Daniel Slim/AFP through Getty Images
Hiding place
alternate
Daniel Slim/AFP through Getty Images
President Trump will sign an executive order on Friday to give the Department of Defense a new name: the War Department.
The change would return to the department to a name that led during much of its history, until it became the Department of Defense following the Second World War. The executive order was confirmed to NPR by a White House official who was not authorized to discuss the matter.
An information sheet of the White House explains that under the executive order, the name “War Department” will serve as a “secondary title” for the Department of Defense.
According to the informative sheet, the order will also authorize the officials of the Department of Defense to replace the word “war” in their titles. For example, the Secretary of Defense could use the title Secretary of War.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseeth seemed to recognize the change in a publication on social networks on Thursday, simply writing “war department.”
President Trump has previously pointed out that a change was in process. Duration An appearance in the Oval office last month, Trump said the war department “sounded better to me.”
It is not clear if Trump can officially the name without the action of Congress, but he told reporters: “We will only.”
“I’m sure Congress will continue if we need that. I don’t think that. But if we need it, I’m sure Congress will continue,” Trump said.
Almost since the country’s foundation, the military were overcome by the War Department, but the agency’s propagation agency on the name after an act of Congress in 1949. At that time, the change marked the culmination of an effort of effort and marine of the Single Department of the Force of the Force of the Force of the Force of the Force of the Force of the Force of the Force.
As the largest department of the US government, simply changing signs, stamps and titles could be expensive. In 2023, an army official told Congress that an effort to change the name of only nine army bases would cost taxpayers $ 39 million.
Danielle Kurtzleben and Quil Lawrence contributed to this report.