US defense secretary personally installs ‘Department of War’ plaque at Pentagon's entrance
Trump signed an executive order in September intended to rename Department of Defense to Department of War
The new logo Department of War
WASHINGTON
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth personally installed a new bronze "Department of War" plaque Thursday at the Pentagon's entrance.
"Welcome to the War Department," the department said on the US social media company X’s platform, sharing a video of Hegseth turning the screws to hang the plaque.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in September intended to rename the Department of Defense to the Department of War and signaled that he would turn to Congress to make the change official.
"I think it sends a message of victory. I think it sends a message of strength, very strong, much stronger than anyone would really understand," he told reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump said he would work with Congress to codify the change but claimed it is unclear if lawmakers would have to act to make it official.
Congress is given the authority under the US Constitution to create, establish and rename federal agencies.
The Department of War was established in 1789, 13 years after the US Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776. It was renamed under legislation signed by President Harry Truman shortly after the conclusion of World War II, a time when many had hoped for the end of global conflict.
