Overview

• Following the executive order, the Pentagon redirected defense.gov to war.gov and installed new "Secretary of War" signage for Pete Hegseth and his deputy.
• The order permits use of "Department of War" and related titles in executive-branch communications, ceremonies and non‑statutory documents.
• Trump and Hegseth cast the move as restoring a "warrior ethos" and projecting readiness and lethality, rejecting policies they call "woke."
• Secretary Hegseth was directed to propose executive and legislative steps to make the change permanent, and Republican lawmakers Mike Lee, Rick Scott and Greg Steube introduced bills to codify it.
• Democrats and other critics warn of significant costs and distraction from priorities, and any statutory renaming is expected to surface in upcoming NDAA debates.