White House moves forward on plans for a Department of War, WSJ Reports

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Reuters

August 30, 2025 6:38 PM EDT Updated 1 hour ago


WASHINGTON, Aug 30 (Reuters) - The Trump administration is advancing plans to rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing a White House official, after U.S. President Donald Trump raised the prospect on Monday.

Restoring the Department of War name for the government's largest department would likely require congressional action, but the White House is exploring alternative methods to implement the change, the report said. Republican Representative Greg Steube of Florida filed an amendment to the annual defense policy bill that would change the name of the department, indicating some Republican support in Congress for the change.

The White House gave no details, but underscored Trump's comments this week emphasizing the U.S. military's offensive capabilities. “As President 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. Stay tuned!” said White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly, using the initials DEI to refer to programs aimed at increasing diversity, equity and inclusion.

Trump raised the idea of rebranding the Defense Department as the "Department of War" while speaking with reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, saying it "just sounded to me better."

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/white-house-moves-forward-plans-department-war-wsj-reports-2025-08-30/

[twodogsbarking]

1. It was the department of war and they changed to defense. Grow up orange hole.

[Angleae]

4. Actually the DoW was demoted to Department of the Army. The DoD was newly created in 1947.

[twodogsbarking]

5. Thanks. Either way they will kill people.

[barbtries]

18. they're not interested in going forward.

they're not interested in Defense.

They want a dystopia. They want us dead.

#BeTheOpposition #SaveDemocracy

[markodochartaigh]

2. This is what happens when the country is

run by businessmen who "promote" people by giving them new titles without increasing their pay and who rearrange departments in order to make new positions for their friends and family. Good old Yankee know-who.

[hildegaard28]

3. And he

Still thinks he’s going to get the Nobel Peace Prize. Snort.

[Traildogbob]

26. Not true

One of his cabinet member butt lickers at the mast 3 hour photo op televised meeting said he should get the “Noble” Peace prize. Another of those brilliant, best there is, minds he surrounds himself with. He called it “Noble” twice.
So give him a dollar store plastic shit trophy, paint it tacky gold and print “Noble Peace Prize” and shut him the fuck up. He can put it up near his Man Of The Year fake mag covers.

[Bayard]

6. Who's he planning on making war on?

Besides Americans. The news gets more wacky and stressful everyday.

[BigmanPigman]

7. He'll invent something, as usual

Everything is for show. Since he claims he has STOPPED 7 wars so far he might as well say 700 wars. He'll invent wars. His personal hate filled war on the US is more realistic than any other wars he can create.

War on truth
War on justice
War on health
War on the economy
War on women
War on climate
War on equality
War on safety
War, war war.....

[Skittles]

8. Putin put the war thing in Trump's head

Trump now sees a good old war as a way to interfere with elections

[GB_RN]

9. I Have Always Hated...

The name Department of Homeland Security. It just sounds like something straight out of the Nazis’ - or even the old Soviet Union’s nomenclature for governmental organizations. If they want to muck around, rename that Nazi-sounding organization to Department of Defense. If they did that, I would have no real issue with renaming the DoD to the DoW.

But that’s just me.

[lastlib]

10. I always called it the "KGWB"---

Last edited Sun Aug 31, 2025, 08:56 AM - Edit history (1)

a mashup of the old Soviet KGB which it resembled), and the initals of its creator, wannabe dictator GWB(ush). And Tom Ridge, the first secretary, just looked like a Commissar (sans battle ribbons).

[GB_RN]

12. Not Bad!

😂

[Intractable]

11. He wants of Dep't of War and a Nobel Peace Prize.

[Paladin]

19. You beat me to it.

What an absolute fucking nightmare we're living in, right now.

[KPN]

13. I'm sure he'll get us into one, two or a few, not to mention

possibly World War III or even the real Apocolypse.

[DallasNE]

14. Trump Needs An Emergency To Take Before The Supreme Court For His Tariffs

This name change would give him the emergency he needs. Without the emergency, whatever Trump claims it to be, he would likely lose the court case. Because of that, Trump will fight very hard to get this name change. Don't listen to any of the excuses he is giving because they are just fig leaves and diversionary tactics.

[Old Crank]

15. Sounds like waste to me.

Where is DOGE cutting the billions of dollars required to do the name change?

[Doodley]

16. When you have no intelligence, ideas, or understanding of how to make anything better, all that is left is changing the

title.

[BadgerKid]

17. Sounds like a need to re-live something?

Not sure who or why. Putin already has an advantage.

[OldBaldy1701E]

20. Ahh, the reliable media.

but the White House is exploring alternative methods to implement the change, the report said.

How about we just tell the truth?

They are trying to ignore our very laws and procedures because they are fascists. They don't care about the rule of law unless it helps them and they will not stop until real Americans stand up and put a stop to it.

Oh wait... they don't want that... oh well...

[travelingthrulife]

21. How backward of us!

[Martin68]

22. Anything to distract from a coming economic catastrophe and the colossal failure of Trump's other performative

acts.

[KS Toronado]

23. A "Department of War" sounds like we like to start them.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

24. MaddowBlog-Trump wants to rebrand the Defense Department as the 'Department of War'

The president insisted that he and his team were “gonna change the name” of the Defense Department. As it turns out, that isn’t quite right.

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-wants-rebrand-defense-department-department-war-rcna229303

It would be far more accurate to say that Trump likes to pretend he’s good at branding, and that leads him in some unfortunate directions. NBC News reported on Trump’s upcoming executive order to add “Department of War” as the secondary title of the Defense Department:

The order, which Trump is expected to sign in the Oval Office, won’t rename the Defense Department, but it will authorize Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to use secondary titles like ‘secretary of war’ and ‘Department of War’ in official correspondence and public communications and during formal ceremonies, according to a White House preview of the order. Trump will require all executive departments and agencies to ‘recognize and accommodate these secondary titles in internal and external communications.’

......At a White House event last week, a reporter reminded the president that it would require an act of Congress to rename a Cabinet agency. He replied, “We’re just gonna do it.”

The comment now makes more sense: Trump isn’t renaming the department; he’s wrapping a new skin around it like a cheap sedan.

We’ve been headed down this path for much of the year. The first hint came in March, when the president published an item to his social media platform that referred in passing to the Pentagon as “the Department of War.” A few months later, he reiterated his interest in the change and even referred to Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth as the “secretary of war.”.....

On the other hand, Trump has also destabilized international alliances and institutions, announced plans to acquire countries that don’t appear to have any interest in joining the United States, launched a preemptive strike against Iran, militarized his own country’s capital, mused about launching military strikes against targets in Mexico and Central America, boasted about a military strike against a civilian boat in international waters and is now rebranding the Pentagon — because “we want offense, too.”

If he’s still angling to get that Nobel, he might want to lower his expectations.

trump knows that he does not have votes in congress to officially change the name and so is playing a game here

[LetMyPeopleVote]

25. It is still the Department of Defense

[kacekwl]

27. Ignore, ignore, ignore. This stupid move will

cost billions to switch over. Give him some crayons and let him draw a new letterhead and new signs. It will keep his demented mind busy for years.