DONALD Trump will rename the US Department of Defense to the Department of War in a push for a “warrior ethos” in America.
The President is poised to sign an executive order that would bring back the agency’s former name.
GettyThe move would require changes to public-facing websites and signs at the Pentagon[/caption]
GettyThe President is poised to sign an executive order that would bring back the agency’s former name[/caption]
EPAPete Hegseth will soon be referred to as the Secretary of War[/caption]
Both Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have previously indicated that they want to see the original name restored.
The commander-in-chief will formally reinstate the Department of War as the agency’s name on Friday, a source told Fox News Digital.
This order would roll it out as a secondary title for the Department of Defense.
It would also see former Fox host Pete Hegseth referred to as the Secretary of War – who will be instructed to propose actions to make the change permanent.
The shift would require changes to public-facing websites and signs at the Pentagon.
Its public affairs briefing room will also be renamed to the “Pentagon War Annex”, a White House official said.
Trump had already hinted a change of branding at the Pentagon might be on the horizon.
“Everybody likes that we had an unbelievable history of victory when it was Department of War,” he said on August 25.
“Then we changed it to Department of Defense.”
For much of US history, the country’s main defense wing was known as the Department of War.
Under sweeping reforms following World War Two, it became known as the Department of Defense in 1949.
Trump has hinted he plans to force through the change with or without the approval of lawmakers.
“We’re just going to do it,” he said last month.
“I’m sure Congress will go along if we need that. I don’t think we even need that.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also voiced his approval, suggesting it could mark a cultural shift in the Pentagon.
“We won WWI and we won WWII, not with the Department of Defense, but with a War Department, with the Department of War,” he told Fox & Friends.
“As the president has said, we’re not just defense, we’re offense.
“We’re reestablished at the Department the warrior ethos.
“We want warriors, folks that understand how to exact lethality on the enemy.
“We don’t want endless contingencies and just playing defense. We think words and names and titles matter.
“So we’re working with the White House and the president on it. Stand by.”
But critics have blasted the cost that renaming the agency would inevitably entail.
Former President Joe Biden previously moved to rename nine bases that honored Confederate leaders.
This was set to cost the Army $39 million – and has since been reversed by Hegseth.
But a change to the Department of Defense’s name would require updating signage all over the country and in bases around the world.
AFPTrump has hinted he plans to force through the change with or without the approval of lawmakers[/caption]
GettyDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also voiced his approval[/caption]
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