Trump says he plans to rename Department of Defense
President Donald Trump said Monday that next week the U.S. Department of Defense could once again return to an earlier name: War Department, a moniker it hasn’t used since 1949.
“You know, we call it the Department of Defense, but between us, I think we’re going to change the name,” Trump said during a meeting with South Korea’s president. “If you people behind me want to take a little vote and change it back to what it was when we used to win wars all the time, that’s OK with me … We want defense but we want offense too, OK?”
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said: “It’s coming soon, sir.”
Congress established the U.S. War Department in 1789, under President George Washington, to oversee the “operation and maintenance of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps,” according to the White House.
The name changed in 1949 with the an amendment to the National Security Act is amended, renaming the National Military Establishment to the Department of Defense. The change rescinded the cabinet-level statuses of Army, Navy and Air Force secretaries and made them all subordinate to the secretary of defense, according to the Pentagon.
Trump has also changed the names of multiple military bases, some landmarks and renamed the “Gulf of Mexico” the “Gulf of America.”
Mostly Sunny
Latest News Stories
‘Good Food For All’ Initiative Proposes Local Agricultural Asset Mapping for Will County
Public Works Committee Advances $3.2 Million Engineering Contract for Mills Road Reconstruction
Board Members Debate “Commitment to Truth” in Media Resolution
Executive Committee: Speaker VanDuyne and Member Butler Clash Over Removal of Committee Chair
Finance Committee: County Appropriates Fees from $25 Million Wilmington Warehouse Project
Capital Imp Committee: Begins Drafting Policy to Regulate Artificial Intelligence in County Government
Public Health Committee Chair Demands Animal Control Agreements for Crete, Monee
Public Works Committee Considers Taking Over Kankakee County Line Road to Expedite Bridge Repairs
Meeting Summary and Briefs: Village of Manhattan Board of Trustees for January 6, 2026
Peotone Man Charged With Disorderly Conduct, Criminal Damage at New Lenox Target
Executive Committee: Update to Land Resource Management Plan; Solar Farms and Rural Zoning Dominate Discussion
Will County Committee Adds Path to Citizenship Support to Federal Agenda
Meeting Summary and Briefs: Manhattan Township Board for November 11, 2025
Health Department Outlines Major Reduction in Consensus Vaccine Schedule
