Overview

• President Trump signed an executive order directing that the Pentagon may use “Department of War” as a secondary title, which does not change the statutory name set by Congress.
• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth embraced the shift with rhetoric emphasizing “maximum lethality, not tepid legality,” reflecting a tougher public posture.
• The i Paper reports the directive is among Trump’s 2025 executive actions and that Hegseth is being styled as Secretary of War under the branding change.
• Critics warn the move hands propaganda value to rivals by casting the U.S. as war‑focused and could divert resources to updating seals and insignia across military installations.
• The rebrand follows other naming pushes reported by Vanity Fair, including executive orders to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America and to restore Mount McKinley, as well as rollbacks of base and ship names.