In his 200th executive order, President Donald Trump officially restored the name “Department of War” to the Department of Defense.
“We’ve been talking about this ‘Department of War,'” Trump said. “So, we won the First World War. We won the Second World War. We won everything before that and in between — and then we decided to go woke and we changed the name to Department of Defense. So, we’re going ‘Department of War.'”
“America’s military is the single most powerful fighting force in the world,” said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine. “The mission you and [Secretary Pete Hegseth] have given us is clear and unambiguous — to deliver peace, through overwhelming strength.”
“Service to this nation is an incredible gift, and we’re grateful and honored every day to do so,” Caine added. “Thank you, Mr. President.”
Trump noted that bringing back the Department of War “sends a message of victory” and is “really a message of strength.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said prior to the order’s signing that the nation is “going to go on offense, not just on defense,” explaining, “Maximum lethality, not tepid legality. Violent effect, not politically correct. We’re going to raise up warriors, not just defenders. So this war department, Mr. President, just like America, is back.”
Lawmakers have already moved to codify the name change. A new bill introduced by Senators Rick Scott (R-FL) and Mike Lee (R-UT) supports the order and states that any reference to the “Department of Defense or the Secretary of Defense in any law, rule, regulation, certificate, directive, instruction, or other official paper in force on the date of enactment of this Act shall be considered to refer and apply to the Department of War and the Secretary of War, respectively.”
A companion bill has been introduced in the House by Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL).
