Trump renames Department of Defence as the Department of War

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday renaming the Department of Defence as the Department of War – a long-telegraphed move aimed at projecting American military toughness around the globe.

“It’s a much more appropriate name, especially in light of where the world is right now,” Mr Trump said. He said the previous name was “woke”.

The order comes as some of Mr Trump’s closest supporters on Capitol Hill proposed legislation that would codify the new name into law, with Congress having the sole power to establish, shutter and rename federal departments.

Absent a change in law, Trump will authorise the Pentagon to use secondary titles.

“From 1789 until the end of World War Two, the United States military fought under the banner of the Department of War,” Florida Republican Greg Steube, an Army veteran, said in a statement.

“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.”

Republican senators Rick Scott and Mike Lee are introducing companion legislation in the Senate.

The Department of War was created in 1789, then renamed and reorganised through legislation signed by President Harry Truman in 1947, two years after the end of the Second World WarW.

The Department of Defence incorporated the Department of War, which oversaw the Army, plus the Department of the Navy and the newly created independent Air Force.