Return to 'Department of War' Used Until 1947
Auxiliary Title Permitted... Official Renaming Requires Congressional Legislation
President Donald Trump of the United States has signed an executive order to change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War.
On the 5th (local time), President Donald Trump of the United States is speaking in the Oval Office at the White House. Photo by AP Yonhap News
On the 5th (local time), President Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House to change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War, and the Secretary of Defense to the Secretary of War. With this measure, the Department of Defense has reverted to the Department of War for the first time in 78 years. However, according to the White House fact sheet, the executive order allows the Department of Defense to use auxiliary titles such as 'Secretary of War', 'Department of War', and 'Deputy Secretary of War' in official documents and events. It also instructs all administrative departments and agencies to recognize and accept these auxiliary titles. The reason for permitting the use of 'Department of War' as an auxiliary title is that an official change to a government department's name requires legislative procedures in Congress.
Since the Department of Defense was established by a law passed by Congress in 1947, it appears that a name change would require congressional approval. When asked whether he expects Congress to approve this, President Trump stated, "We will find out now," and added, "I don't know if they absolutely have to, but we will push for it very strongly."
Previously in American history, the Department of War existed from 1789 to 1947. At that time, President Harry Truman separated the Department of War into the Army and the Air Force in 1947, and integrated the independently operated Navy. He then named the newly organized cabinet-level agency the Department of Defense.
President Trump said, "We won World War I and World War II. We also won all the wars before and between those wars," adding, "But then we chose to 'wake up' and changed the department's name to the Department of Defense. Now, we are going back to the Department of War." He continued, "I think this shows that we have the most powerful military."
He emphasized the renaming of the department, arguing that the reason the United States has not achieved decisive victories in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the 'War on Terror' since World War II is because the country pursued political correctness rather than strengthening its combat power.
This executive order is the 200th signed by President Trump since the start of his second administration.
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