President Trump on Monday suggested changing the Department of Defense back to its original name, the Department of War, arguing the current title is “too defensive.” At an Oval Office event and later alongside South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, he claimed the U.S. enjoyed an “unbelievable history of victory” under the old name, pointing to World Wars I and II.
Trump said the decision could be finalized “over the next week or so,” leaving it to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Asked whether congressional approval would be required, Trump insisted it would not: “We’re just going to do it.”
The War Department, created under George Washington, oversaw the Army until Congress established a separate Navy Department in the late 1790s. Both operated independently for more than a century. After World War II, President Harry Truman sought to unify the armed services under a single Cabinet post to reduce costs and strengthen security .“Congress established the National Military Establishment in 1947, before renaming it the Department of Defense two years later.”
