Overview

• President Trump signed a Sept. 5 decree authorizing “Department of War” as a secondary title, and official websites, social accounts and office signage began using the label as Pete Hegseth was addressed as “Secretary of War.”
• The statutory name can change only by an act of Congress, leaving the move nonbinding for now, with Republican Senator Rick Scott calling for swift legislation.
• On Sept. 6 Trump warned Chicago it would “learn why it’s called the War Department,” prompting sharp objections from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.
• Media reports and Pentagon insiders estimate the rebranding could cost hundreds of millions of dollars to replace seals, signage, stationery and other materials worldwide.
• The White House frames the shift as reviving a “warrior ethos,” and the title echoes the historical Department of War used from 1789 to 1949.