The renaming is part of what Hegseth has called the “warrior ethos” campaign within the Pentagon.

By Matthew Xiao, The Washington Free Beacon

President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order that allows the Department of Defense to use the name “Department of War” and directs the defense secretary to propose making the name change permanent, reviving the name that the department used for more than 150 years before it was rebranded after World War II.

While Trump cannot officially rename the department without congressional approval, his order authorizes “the Secretary of Defense, the Department of Defense, and subordinate officials to use secondary titles such as ‘Secretary of War,’ ‘Department of War,’ and ‘Deputy Secretary of War’ in official correspondence, public communications, ceremonial contexts, and non-statutory documents within the executive branch,” according to a White House fact sheet.

The order also directs Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to propose executive and legislative actions to make the name change permanent.

“The name ‘Department of War’ conveys a stronger message of readiness and resolve compared to ‘Department of Defense,’ which emphasizes only defensive capabilities,” the fact sheet reads.

Republican lawmakers are moving to codify the name change, with Sens. Rick Scott (R., Fla.) and Mike Lee (R., Utah) leading the effort in the Senate and Rep. Greg Steube (R., Fla.) spearheading the House version, according to a joint press release by the three lawmakers.

The renaming is part of what Hegseth has called the “warrior ethos” campaign within the Pentagon.

The Trump administration has worked to showcase greater military resolve and readiness, dismantling what it calls the Biden administration’s “woke” initiatives, which officials say weakened morale and undermined the armed forces’ mission.

“The president said to me, I want you to restore the warrior ethos of our military, full stop,” Hegseth said at the Army War College in April, adding, “We are leaving wokeness and weakness behind. And refocusing on lethality, meritocracy, accountability, standards and readiness.”

The Department of War was established under George Washington in 1789 and retained the name until 1947, when then-president Harry Truman merged the War and Navy Departments with the newly formed Air Force into a single body called the National Military Establishment.

Two years later, it was renamed the Department of Defense.

Trump first floated the renaming last month, saying that the United States “had an unbelievable history of victory when it was Department of War” and that “we want defense, but we want offense, too.”

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The ADL and the American Jewish Committee condemned her appointment.

By Grace Gilson, JTA

The House Jewish Caucus called for answers from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the promotion of Kingsley Wilson, the Pentagon press secretary accused of repeatedly posting antisemitic rhetoric online.

In a letter sent Tuesday, the 21 Democratic representatives in the caucus aired their concerns over “a series of deeply troubling and offensive statements made by Kingsley Wilson.”

“These statements include promoting the antisemitic and racist ‘Great Replacement’ theory, praising far-right political movements using slogans tied to neo-Nazi groups, and repeating patently false statements commonly circulated in neo-Nazi circles about Leo Frank, a Jewish man who was lynched by an antisemitic mob in Georgia in 1915,” the letter read.

The letter, which was led by Rep. Laura Friedman, a California Democrat, said that Wilson’s statement’s “raised questions” about the Department of Defense’s “commitment to opposing extremism and antisemitism.” The letter was first reported by Jewish Insider.

Scrutiny of the former acting press secretary last month showed that in 2024 she had tweeted a neo-Nazi talking point about Frank, whose murder by a Georgia mob spurred the creation of the Anti-Defamation League.

The ADL and the American Jewish Committee condemned her appointment.

She has also tweeted several times in support of the “Great Replacement” theory, whose original version contends that Jews are orchestrating immigration in order to undermine white-majority populations.

The caucus letter asked the DOD about steps it has taken to address antisemitism and whether Hegseth finds Wilson’s comments to be “acceptable language for an official representing the Department of Defense.”

It was co-signed by caucus co-chairs Rep. Jerry Nadler, a New York Democrat, and Brad Schneider, an Illinois Democrat, and 18 other House Democrats.

During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing last week, Sen. Jacky Rosen, a Nevada Democrat, also lambasted Hegseth over the appointment of Wilson as press secretary.

“Given the rise in antisemitic violence and hate crimes in our nation, and to show that the Trump Administration does have a zero-tolerance policy for antisemitism, will you dismiss Ms. Kingsley from her role as the U.S. military’s spokesperson today? Yes or no,” asked Rosen.

In his response, Hegseth defended Kingsley, saying that she “does a fantastic job” and that suggesting he, Wilson or others are “party to antisemitism is a mischaracterization attempting to win political points.”

“I’m going to assume that your lack of an answer confirms what we’ve known all along, that the Trump Administration is not serious,” replied Rosen.

“You are not a serious person. You are not serious about rooting out antisemitism in the ranks of our DOD. It’s despicable. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.”

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Thursday marked the one-year anniversary of U.S. President Donald Trump’s historic recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and his vow to move the embassy to Jerusalem.

Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Pete Hegseth previews his exclusive interview with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the occasion. They met in Jerusalem on the fifth night of Chanukah at the Western Wall, where U.S. Ambassador David Friedman lit the menorah.

It was the first time the menorah was lit with a U.S. official, Hegseth noted.

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