White House advances plan for Department of War as Trump looks to restore historical military title

The White House is pushing to rebrand the Pentagon, confirming Saturday plans to rename the Department of Defense the Department of War, The Wall Street Journal first reported.

The Department of War was established by Congress in August 1789 to oversee the operation and maintenance of the military branches. After a brief name change to the National Military Establishment after World War II, it was changed to the Department of Defense.

White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told Fox News the change comes amid a restoration of U.S. military values.

"As President [Donald] Trump said, our military should be focused on offense — not just defense — which is why he has prioritized warfighters at the Pentagon instead of DEI and woke ideology," Kelly wrote in a statement. "Stay tuned!" 

The White House confirmed plans to rename the Department of Defense. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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The announcement comes days after Trump said the name change would happen "over the next week or so."

"You know, we call it the Department of Defense, but between us, I think we're going to change the name," the president said at the White House earlier in the week. "You want to know the truth, I think we're going to have some information on that, maybe soon."

The Department of War was renamed after both world wars. (Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images)

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Trump noted the historical importance of the department's name during both world wars.

"We won World War I [and] World War II. It was called the Department of War. To me, that's really what it is," he said. "I'm talking to the people. Everybody likes that. We had an unbelievable history of victory when it was Department of War. Then we changed it to Department of Defense."

The president said others he has spoken to are in favor of the change. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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Congress creates federal executive departments by law, so an amendment would be required to change the name legally.

"I'm sure Congress will go along if we need that. I don't think we even need that. But, if we need that, I'm sure Congress will go along," Trump said. "Defense is too defensive. And we want to be defensive, but we want to be offensive too if we have to be. So, it just sounded to me like a better name." 

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The president can recommend legislation to make the change official or rebrand it informally without approval.

Fox News Digital's Greg Norman contributed to this report.