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Trump Wants a Department of War. A House GOP Amendment Would Give Him One.

29 August 2025

By Rebecca Kheel | Military.com

President Donald Trump’s desire to have a “Department of War” could be fulfilled under an amendment filed this week by a Republican congressman.

Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., has filed an amendment to the annual defense policy bill that would formally change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War.

The amendment still faces many hurdles before it would become law, including a decision by the House Rules Committee on which amendments will even get votes on the House floor. But its filing indicates GOP support in Congress for the idea.

“Restoring the Department of War name to our military will not only honor the heroism of the service members who came before us but also remind each new generation of their sacred responsibility to defend freedom,” Steube, an Army veteran, said in an emailed statement to Military.com on Wednesday.

The Department of War was the name for the Cabinet agency that oversaw the Army for much of the country’s history. Established shortly after the ratification of the Constitution in 1789, the department first included the Army, Navy and Marine Corps before the Department of the Navy was created as a separate Cabinet agency in 1798.

In 1947, Congress passed a sweeping reorganization of the country’s national security apparatus that included replacing the War Department with the Department of the Army, creating the Air Force and establishing a new umbrella agency to oversee each military department. Two years later, Congress amended the law and named the nascent agency the Department of Defense.

The reorganization was championed by then-President Harry Truman as a way to make the services more cohesive after World War II.

“One of the lessons which have most clearly come from the costly and dangerous experience of this war is that there must be unified direction of land, sea and air forces at home as well as in all other parts of the world where our armed forces are serving,” Truman said in a 1945 message to Congress.

“It is true, we were able to win in spite of these handicaps. But it is now time to take stock, to discard obsolete organizational forms and to provide for the future the soundest, the most effective and the most economical kind of structure for our armed forces of which this most powerful nation is capable.”

Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have floated the idea of restoring the Department of War name repeatedly since Trump took office in January. But this week, the pair gave their clearest indications yet they plan to move forward with the idea.

“Defense? I don’t want to be defense only. We want defense, but we want offense too, if that’s OK,” Trump said in the Oval Office during an executive order signing ceremony. “As Department of War, we won everything. We won everything, and I think we’re going to have to go back to that.”

Hegseth, who was standing behind Trump, replied that reviving the Department of War name is “common sense” and that plans to do so are “coming soon.”

Renaming the Department of Defense would follow a pattern of the Trump administration restoring discarded names of military assets. Contravening a congressional mandate, the administration changed the names of nine Army bases back to the original monikers that honor Confederate military leaders.

Because the Department of Defense name is enshrined in law, a name change likely requires another act of Congress.

Trump, though, has appeared unconcerned that Congress could be an impediment.

“We’re just going to do it,” Trump said later Monday during an event to mark the fourth anniversary of the Abbey Gate bombing in Afghanistan. “I’m sure Congress would go along if we need that. I don’t think we will need that.”

Steube’s proposed amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, suggests at least some Republicans are ready to go along with the idea.

The amendment would specifically replace any references to the Department of Defense in federal law and regulation with the Department of War. It would also rename the secretary of defense to the secretary of war.

Hundreds of amendments are usually proposed for the NDAA, with typically just a fraction granted votes. The House Rules Committee is scheduled to meet the week of Sept. 8 to decide which amendments to advance to the House floor, with the full chamber expected to debate and vote on the NDAA and amendments later that week.

First published on Military.com

U.S. Representative Greg Steube (R-Fla.) joined with Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) today in introducing the Department of War Restoration Act. This bill redesignates the Department of Defense as the “Department of War.”

“From 1789 until the end of World War II, the United States military fought under the banner of the Department of War,” said Rep. Steube. “Thanks to their courage and sacrifice, the standard of excellence was established for all servicemembers who followed in their footsteps. It is only fitting that we pay tribute to their eternal example and renowned commitment to lethality by restoring the name of the ‘Department of War’ to our Armed Forces.”

“For the first 150 years of our military’s history, Americans defeated their enemies and protected their country under the War Department,” said Senator Lee. “I’m proud to introduce the Department of War Restoration Act to make President Trump’s return to tradition permanent in federal law. It should always be clear to anyone who would harm our people: Americans don’t just play defense.”

Background: The Department of War Restoration Act redesignates the Department of Defense as the “Department of War.” It also renames the position of Secretary of Defense as “Secretary of War.”

Read the full bill text here.

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