Trump to rename Defense Department
From the late 1700s to the end of World War II, our Defense Department went by a different name.
It was called the Department of War, and Trump seems to like the way that sounds.
So much so, he just signed an order to bring the old name back.
War Department
The War Department, or War Office, as it was sometimes called, was formed on August 7, 1789.
The initial role of the Secretary of War was a civilian role primarily responsible for the financing and supplying of the United States Army, and later the United States Navy, with other service branches later being folded in.
Originally, the Secretary played only a small role in directing military affairs, that being left to the respective commanders of those forces.
In 1947, that changed when the National Security Act of 1947 called for the department to be renamed the Department of Defense, splitting out each branch to the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force, with their respective secretaries reporting to the Secretary of Defense.
Time for Change
We have often heard Secretary Hegseth talk about changing the mindset of our forces, and this is just an extension of that.
Hegseth stated, "We won WWI, and we won WWII, not with the Department of Defense, but with a War Department, with the Department of War. As the president has said, we're not just defense, we're offense.
"We've reestablished at the Department the warrior ethos. We want warriors, folks that understand how to exact lethality on the enemy. We don't want endless contingencies and just playing defense. We think words and names and titles matter. So, we're working with the White House and the president on it. Stand by."
The idea was planted, and Trump loved it, stating, "Everybody likes that we had an unbelievable history of victory when it was Department of War. Then we changed it to Department of Defense."
Another Order
On Friday, Trump signed his 200th Executive Order, renaming the Defense Department to the Department of War.
Like many of Trump’s orders, the legality of this has come into question, especially since the original change took place through an act of Congress.
Trump addressed this, stating, "We're going with it, and we're going with it very strongly. There's a question as to whether or not they [Congress] have to, but we'll put it before Congress.”
Trump can probably get this through the House, but even that is a question; I doubt he can get this through the Senate if needed. I don’t see seven Democrats voting in favor of this to break the filibuster, unless they can bypass cloture. Even then, does Trump have enough support among Republicans for this? I can think of at least three or four Republicans who would block him right out of the gate. Something tells me this will be a short-lived name change. I have zero issue with the change, but I dobut that feeling permeates through Congress.
