| "Restoring the United States Department of War" | |
 | |
 Front page of Executive Order 14347 | |
| Type | Executive order |
|---|---|
| Number | 14347 |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Signed | September 5, 2025 |
| Summary | |
| The executive order aims to return theUnited States Department of Defense to its former name, theDepartment of War. | |
Executive Order 14347, titledRestoring the United States Department of War, is anexecutive order signed byDonald Trump, the 47thpresident of the United States, on September 5, 2025.[1] AmongU.S. federal agencies, the order authorized the official use of the secondary title "Department of War" for theUnited States Department of Defense. The department now refers to itself as the "Department of War" for non-statutory purposes, but is still technically named the Department of Defense, as only anact of Congress can formally change the name of a federal department.
Prior to 1947, civilian control of theUnited States Armed Forces was overseen by two Cabinet-level executive departments: theUnited States Department of War and theUnited States Department of the Navy. TheNational Security Act of 1947 reorganized the US military by establishing the National Military Establishment (NME) headed by thesecretary of defense, placing the Navy Department and the War Department underneath it, renaming the latter to theDepartment of the Army, and spinning off theDepartment of the Air Force.[2] Two years later, the National Military Establishment was renamed the Department of Defense, reportedly because "NME" was pronounced like "enemy".[3]
The Secretary of Defense is authorized to use the secondary title of Secretary of War, including in official correspondence and public communications. Accordingly, the Department of Defense andOffice of the Secretary of Defense are authorized to be referred to as the Department of War and Office of the Secretary of War, respectively, in the same contexts. The same standards are applied for thedeputy secretary of defense andunder secretaries of defense.[1]
Other federal agencies are required to recognize and accommodate the secondary titles, though it recognizes that statutory references can only be changed by law. Accordingly, the secretary is required to submit a recommendation to the president on necessary legislative actions to accomplish the order's goal.[1]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.m.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding missing information.(November 2025) |
Shortly after Trump signed the executive order, the official website of the Department of Defense was rebranded to use the "Department of War" name and its URL was changed to "war.gov".[4] However, the "Defense" names remain the only statutory names, as only anact of Congress can formally change these titles.[5][6] In November 2025, insiders interviewed byNBC News estimated that implementation could cost $2 billion USD, with half of that amount dedicated to new letterhead and signage. When asked about the estimate, department spokespersonSean Parnell replied that costs had not been finalized.[7]
Trump labeled the Department of Defense name as "woke" and claimed the new name "sends a message of victory".[8] SecretaryPete Hegseth said the decision would "set the tone for the country." Current and former department officials expressed concern over the cost of the rebranding, which would potentially require changing departmental seals on 700,000 military facilities, and logos on everything from letterheads to napkins.[9]Larry Wilkerson, the chief of staff to formerSecretary of StateColin Powell described the rebranding as "very, very costly" and estimated that it could cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Others stated that the new name reflected the status of the United States as a global superpower, including representativeRyan Zinke who stated "There's a projection of power the United States has to have".[10]
CongressionalRepublicans generally supported the name change, with SenatorsRick Scott andMike Lee introducing legislation to formalize the change.[10] Others, including formerSenate minority leaderMitch McConnell partially criticized the change as superficial and stated that "'Peace through strength' requires investment, not just rebranding".[11]Democrats opposed the change, particularlyIllinois Democrats. Trump had threatened that the former would "learn why it's called the Department of War" bydeploying federal troops to combat crime in the city.Illinois GovernorJB Pritzker labeled this as "not normal", whileChicago MayorBrandon Johnson called the threats "beneath the honor of our nation".[12]
