Defense Department Scrambles to Pretend It’s Called the War Department

The Pentagon’s website and societal media channels were overhauled Friday astatine President Donald Trump’s behest to bespeak nan United States Defense Department’s caller “Department of War” persona, shifting from Defense.gov to War.gov—a symbolic rebranding that highlights nan administration’s penchant for projecting spot done nan connection of warfare alternatively than nan idiom of defense.

Trump connected Friday signed an executive bid directing nan Pentagon to erstwhile again beryllium named nan alleged Department of War, reviving a sanction retired aft World War II to people America’s move to deterrence arsenic nan rule bulwark against atomic annihilation.

At an Oval Office ceremony, Trump said nan alteration was astir attitude, declaring, “It’s really astir winning.”

“We won nan First World War, we won nan Second World War, we won everything earlier that and successful between,” Trump said during nan order's signing. “And past we decided to spell woke and we changed nan sanction to nan Department of Defense.”

The bid authorizes defense caput Pete Hegseth and different officials to usage titles specified arsenic “secretary of war” successful charismatic correspondence, though Trump besides instructed Hegseth to urge steps needed to make nan alteration permanent.

“We’re going to spell connected offense, not conscionable connected defense. Maximum lethality, not tepid legality. Violent effect, not politically correct,” Hegseth said during Friday's signing ceremony. “We’re going to raise up warriors, not conscionable defenders.”

Every anterior sanction change—from nan War Department created by Congress successful 1789, to nan National Military Establishment successful 1947, to nan Department of Defense successful 1949—came done legislation. Allies successful Congress quickly introduced a measure to backmost Friday's alteration to nan alleged Department of War, but nan management appears to beryllium seeking a workaround anyway, arsenic it has done successful nan past, whether by invoking sweeping emergency powers aliases withholding congressionally approved overseas aid. Currently, “Department of War” is simply a “secondary” title aft nan Department of Defense.

Within hours of Trump’s order, Pentagon officials rebranded nan department’s societal media platforms. The Department of Defense’s charismatic Facebook, Instagram, and X accounts softly rolled retired nan “Department of War” sanction and seal, adopting labels astatine likelihood pinch its ineligible identity.

As of astir 6 p.m. ET connected Friday, nan new Department of War page still lists each nan department's different societal channels and its website arsenic utilizing nan “Defense” name, arsenic did its YouTube channel.

How acold nan rebranding mightiness spell is unclear, but immoderate broad effort would saddle taxpayers pinch costs successful nan hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars, arsenic each sign, logo, uniform, machine system, and portion of charismatic paperwork tied to nan Pentagon’s personality crossed nan globe would request to beryllium replaced.

A anterior effort to urge changes astatine subject installations commemorating nan Confederacy carried a projected costs of $39 cardinal and covered only 9 bases. The Defense Department’s existent spot portfolio spans hundreds of thousands of facilities, from awesome bases to mini outposts worldwide.