A White House official said US President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order to change the US Department of Defense to the Department of War. The decree would allow Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and officials to use titles such as "Ministry of War" or "Ministry of War" in official documents and public statements.
Mr. Hegseth will also be asked to make legislative and executive recommendations to make this change permanent. The US Department of Defense was called the Department of War until 1949, when the National Assembly decided to merge the Army, Navy and Air Force in the post-World War II context. Historists believe that the new name was chosen at that time to emphasize the prevention of conflict in the nuclear era.
Trump's plan is expected to be expensive, as the renaming would result in updates to the badge, documents and facilities not only at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., but also at many military bases around the world. Last year, former President Joe Biden's efforts to rename nine military bases honoring the Southern Alliance were estimated to cost the US Army $39 million. This move was overturned by Mr. Hegseth.
Some Republicans said the renaming was necessary to affirm their "war spirit". Mr. Trump previously said that the Defense listens too defensively, while the US needs to be ready to attack if the situation is necessary. House Oversight Commissioner James Comer has also proposed a bill that would make it easier for the president to reorganize or rename federal agencies.
However, many Democratic lawmakers criticized the decision as costly and ostentatious. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a veteran and member of the Senate Military Commission, said that instead of spending money on renaming, the government should invest in military families or diplomatic activities to prevent conflicts from the start.
Mr. Kash Patel, the current FBI Director and a former short-term employee of the Pentagon, revealed that during Trump's first term, he used an email signature that stated "Ministry of War" as a way to honor the agency's history.
