Overview

• Trump’s order authorizes Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon to use “Department of War” and related titles in official communications, with websites and social accounts updated immediately.
• Only Congress can change the department’s statutory name, and Senator Rick Scott urged lawmakers to pass a bill, leaving the current move’s permanence uncertain.
• News outlets and insiders estimate a full rebrand would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to replace signage, seals, stationery and other materials across U.S. and overseas facilities.
• Former diplomats and analysts warn the martial branding could complicate diplomacy, with ex-ambassador R. Nicholas Burns calling the move backward-looking.
• Trump escalated domestic rhetoric, writing that “Chicago will soon find out why it is called the War Department,” drawing condemnation from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.