White House unveiled plans to rename the United States Department of Defense to its historic name, Department of War.
The Wall Street Journal on Saturday, August 30, reported that the White House is moving forward with the plans to rename the Department of Defense after US President Donald Trump earlier this week expressed his desire to revive the historical name.
According to Reuters, White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly stated that the renaming proposed by the Republican resident reflects the restoration of US military values and its offensive capabilities.
Referring to the program to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), she wrote, “As President Trump said, our military should be focused on offence – not just defense – which is why he has prioritised warfighters at the Pentagon instead of DEI and woke ideology. Stay tuned!”
This came after Trump, during a meeting at the Oval Office on Monday, raised the idea of renaming the department established by Congress in August 1789, citing that the older name “just sounded to me better."
The 79-year-old told reporters, "It used to be called the Department of War, and it had a stronger sound," Trump said. "We want defense, but we want offence too ... As Department of War, we won everything, we won everything, and I think we're going to have to go back to that."
It is worth noting that changing the name of the largest federal department usually requires congressional action, but the Trump administration is reportedly looking for alternative methods to rename the Defence Department.
