Trump Moves to Rebrand Pentagon as ‘Department of War’

After months of promoting his bid for the Nobel Peace Prize, President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order rebranding the Department of Defense with its historic title, the “Department of War.”

Trump argued the change signaled strength and rejected the Pentagon’s existing name as “woke.” “It sends a message of victory,” he said, adding that peace must come “from a position of strength.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, whom Trump now calls the “secretary of war,” said the shift reflected a new focus on “offense, not just defense,” and pledged to pursue “maximum lethality.” The Pentagon’s website has already switched from defense.gov to war.gov, with new signage and stationery rolling out.

The symbolic rebranding still requires congressional approval. Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) and Sens. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) have introduced legislation to codify the name change, citing the military’s history under the Department of War from 1789 to 1947.

The move is the latest in Trump’s efforts to reshape the military’s identity, including reversing base renamings, banning transgender service members, and scrubbing Pentagon sites of diversity-focused content. Critics say the rebrand contradicts his peace rhetoric, while supporters argue it restores a tradition of strength.