Chicago – September 05, 2025
President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Friday that will change the name of the Defense Department to the Department of War, a White House official told CNN.
It’s a move that the president and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have previewed in recent days, including Trump in the Oval Office last week when he told reporters his administration was going to “change the name.”
“We call it the Department of Defense, but between us, I think we’re gonna change the name,” the president told reporters on August 25.
“We won the World War 1, World War 2 – it was called the Department of War, and to me, that’s really what it is. Defense is a part of that, but I have a feeling we’re gonna be changing.”
While at Fort Benning on Thursday, Hegseth indicated the name change would be coming on Friday.
“I would say standby tomorrow,” Hegseth said when asked about a potential change. “It’s something that — words matter. Titles matter. Cultures matter. And George Washington founded the War Department. We’ll see.”
The last time the department’s name was changed took an act of Congress. CNN has reached out to the White House about how it would change the name this time.
The Department of War, as it as once called, was first established by President George Washington when he founded the country’s Army. But the name was later changed in 1949 as part of a broader reorganization of the military under President Harry Truman.
