Trump signs executive order rebranding Defense Department as Department of War | 5 Sept 2025 | President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday rebranding the Department of Defense as the Department of War, a more bellicose alternative that echoes the agency’s 18th-century name. “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,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office after signing the order… Trump’s order does not formally rename the Department of Defense, a move that would require congressional approval. Instead, it makes the Department of War the secondary title and authorizes Hegseth to use titles like secretary of war and Department of War in official correspondence and public communications.