President Trump, Pete Hegseth
Donald TrumpMilitaryPolitics

Trump Makes Department Of War Rebrand Official, Explains Why He’s Reverting To Old Name

RNN Staff

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday officially renaming the Department of Defense to its original title, the Department of War, restoring a name that had defined the United States military through some of the country’s most historic victories. The president and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth declared the rebrand a signal of strength, clarity, and a return to America’s warrior ethos.

Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said the name change reflects a shift in America’s posture from passive defense to proactive strength, citing the country’s long record of decisive victory before the term “defense” became the official nomenclature in 1949.

“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,” Trump said, standing beside Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine. “I think it sends a message of victory. I think it sends really a message of strength. We’re very strong. We’re much stronger than anyone would really understand.”

Hegseth: ‘Restoring the Warrior Ethos’

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth emphasized that the renaming is not a symbolic gesture but a cultural reset.

“The United States has not won a major war since the Department of War became the Department of Defense,” Hegseth said. “That’s not to disparage our warfighters … that’s to recognize that this name change is not just about renaming — it’s about restoring. Words matter. It’s restoring, as you’ve guided us to, Mr. President, restoring the warrior ethos, restoring victory and clarity as an end state.”

He praised Trump for ending “decades of managed decline and hesitation” in military leadership and doctrine, stating that American service members “deserve a Department that fights to win, not one that’s forever on defense.”

Trump: ‘We Never Fought To Win’

Trump echoed Hegseth’s sentiment, saying the American military remained powerful in recent decades but was too often held back by political correctness and globalist indecision.

“We didn’t lose anything, but we didn’t fight to win,” Trump said. “We could’ve won every one of those wars quickly, but they went a route that I think was probably politically correct, but not correct for our nation. So I think the Department of War sends a signal.”

The president added that clarity in doctrine — and even naming — can shape the mindset of an entire force. “We need decisive victories. You don’t get that by tiptoeing around the word ‘war.’ Our enemies need to understand what they’re dealing with,” Trump said.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs: ‘Mission Is Clear’

Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reaffirmed the armed forces’ readiness to deliver results under the newly restored Department of War.

“The mission you and the secretary have given us is clear and unambiguous — to deliver peace through overwhelming strength,” Caine said. “And I remind everyone that the U.S. military can reach any adversary at the time and place of our choosing.”

Historic Context

The Department of War was originally established by President George Washington in 1789 and played a central role through America’s wars up until 1947. Following the post-World War II reorganization of the military under President Harry Truman, the name was changed to the Department of Defense in 1949 to reflect a more global, containment-driven strategy during the Cold War.

Trump has long criticized that shift as emblematic of a weakening posture. “It used to be called the Department of War, and it had a stronger sound,” Trump said in August. “As Department of War, we won everything. And I think we’re gonna have to go back to that.”

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