"Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has done an outstanding job at what I call the Department of War. They call it the Department of Defense, but I think we're going to change that. We'll make an announcement soon, if you want to know", US President Donald Trump stated during a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung at the White House on 25/8.
He argued that the US Department of Defense was originally called the Department of War during the periods of World War I and World War II. "Everybody liked that we had such incredible winning history when it was called the Department of War", President Trump said.
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US President Donald Trump at the White House on 25/8. Photo: AFP |
US President Donald Trump at the White House on 25/8. Photo: AFP
George Washington, the first US president and founding father, established the Department of War in 1789. This name remained until 1947, when then-President Harry Truman initiated a restructuring, renaming the agency to the Department of Defense in 1949.
Trump has previously referred to Hegseth as "Secretary of War" and praised the number of new recruits enlisted during his second term.
President Trump suggested the renaming process would occur within the next week. However, this move would require congressional approval as the Department of Defense was established through decades-old legislation.
The proposed name change reflects Trump's desire to assert his role in addressing global conflicts and to project US military strength abroad. "I don’t want to just defend. We want to be able to go on offense too", he declared.
In March, Secretary of Defense Hegseth posed a question to his followers on X (formerly Twitter), asking whether they preferred the Department of Defense or the Department of War. The majority favored the latter.
Huyen Le (According to The Hill, Politico)
