Donald Trump is to rebrand the US Department of Defense as the “Department of War”, according to the White House.
The president will today sign an executive order allowing it to be used as a secondary title for the US government’s biggest organisation.
It also means defence secretary Pete Hegseth will be able to refer to himself as the “secretary of war” in official communications and ceremonies.
Mr Hegseth posted the words “DEPARTMENT OF WAR” on X on Thursday night.
Permanently renaming the department would need congressional approval, but the White House said the executive order will instruct Mr Hegseth to begin the process.
The Department of Defense – often referred to colloquially as the Pentagon due to the shape of its Washington HQ – was called the War Department until 1949.
Historians say the name was changed to show the US was focussed on preventing conflict following the Second World War and the dawning of the nuclear age.
Mr Trump raised the possibility of a change in June, when he suggested it was originally renamed to be “politically correct”.
His reversion to the more combative title could cost tens of millions, with letterheads and building signs in the US and at military bases around the world potentially needing a refresh.
Joe Biden’s effort to rename nine army bases honouring the Confederacy and Confederate leaders, set to cost $39m (£29m), was reversed by Mr Hegseth earlier this year.
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Opponents have already criticised Mr Trump’s move.
“Why not put this money toward supporting military families or toward employing diplomats that help prevent conflicts from starting in the first place?” said Democratic senator Tammy Duckworth, a member of the armed services committee.
Mr Trump’s other federal renaming orders include controversially labelling the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf Of America” and reverting North America’s tallest mountain, Denali in Alaska, to its former name of Mount McKinley.
The Mexican government and Alaska’s Republican senators both rejected the changes.
