From Department Of Defense To Department Of War: Is Trump Telling Us Something With Name Change?

On Monday, US President Donald Trump floated the idea of returning the Department of Defense to its former name. He argued that the Department of War is a better alternative since the current iteration comes off 'too defensive'. Could Trump be insinuating something off of this possible change?

Trump on Name Change

Reporters were at the Oval Office for an event on Monday afternoon where Trump said that they 'want to be defensive', but want to be 'offensive' if they have to be.

Trump added that the change would likely be made 'over the next week or so'. He also said that he'd leave it up to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

As per Trump, 'we'll do it a couple of more times. And if everyone likes it, we'll make that change'. He was then asked whether Congress would need to sign off on the idea of restoring the agency's old name.

This question is rooted from concerns due to lawmakers already passing the initial renaming dating back to the 1940s. Trump simply said that he 'didn't think so'.

'We're just going to do it. I'm sure Congress will go along if we need that. I don't think we even need that'.

The President proceeded to trial the Department of War moniker during a series of public events at the White House on Monday. This included a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.

Lee argued that the United States had an 'unbelievable history of victory' under the department's prior name. He referred to World War I and World War II.

Trump has been teasing a name change for the federal government's largest agency for months. He referred to Hegseth as his 'Secretary of War' in a post via Truth Social at one point.

During a press conference in June, Trump also said that the old moniker was left alone because they became 'politically correct'.

Why Was It Changed To The Department of Defense Before?

The Department of War was renamed to the Department of Defense in the wake of World War II. It was part of a restructuring process the US military went through at the time.

The move brought the Army and Navy together into a single Cabinet-level agency. Prior to this, the War Department oversaw the Army, while Congress made a separate department to handle Navy concerns.

The War Department dated back to the time of President George Washington's first term. Meanwhile, the Navy Department was created in the late 1970s to manage the new country's naval forces and Marine Corps.

The two agencies would operate as separate entities for over a century.

President Harry Truman notably pushed for different branches of service to be combined into a single agency. This would be realised as the Department of National Defense in 1947.

He told Congress that this move was needed to 'cut costs and at the same time enhance our national security'. This was cemented in a law that paved the way for the National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency.

In 1949, Congress would name the agency the Department of Defense.