WASHINGTON, Sept 6 — United States (US) President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday to initiate a rebrand of the Department of Defence as the "Department of War", reported the German Press Agency (dpa).
He signed an executive order to this effect in the Oval Office and immediately afterwards addressed Pentagon boss Pete Hegseth as "Secretary of War".
A White House fact sheet on the rebrand described "Department of War" and "Secretary of War", which had been in use until shortly after the end of World War II, as "secondary" titles to the Department of Defence and Secretary of Defence.
"I think it is a much more appropriate name, especially in light of where the world is right now," Trump said shortly after signing the order, adding that the change sends a "message of victory".
It was not initially clear whether the renaming would be legally binding immediately. The last time the department's name was changed, it took an act from the US Congress. The order was accompanied by a Bill in Congress.
On the same day, Trump questioned whether the approval was needed.
"I do not know, but we are going to find out, but I am not sure they have to," adding that his administration would use the terms regardless.
"We are going with it, and we are going with it very strongly... but we will put it before Congress," Trump said.
Immediately after the signing, the department's website and social media accounts displayed the new name.
Anyone accessing the department's X (formerly Twitter) account and website immediately after the signing would already see the new name.
The move has been in the pipeline for some time, and Trump has publicly spoken about the idea before.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told broadcaster Fox News earlier in the week that the government wants to revive a "warrior ethos" and send a deterrent signal to the outside world.
The Department of War was initially created by the nation's first president George Washington in 1789.
