The “Department of Defense” doesn’t sound aggressive enough to the Trump administration – for good reason. Why should the world’s most powerful military be branded as a nation that only fights back after being attacked?

The House Armed Services Committee voted last week to advance a $1.15 trillion defense authorization bill that includes a proposal to permanently rename the Department of Defense back to the “Department of War” – a change long championed by President Donald Trump and declared by Executive Order in September 2025. The amendment was approved along party lines (with all Dems voting against it, of course) and tucked into the annual military spending package.

Supporters argue the “War” name projects strength and sends a clearer message to America’s adversaries like Iran and China. Critics counter that the government is considering spending up to $125 million changing signs, stationery, websites, and official documents so federal agencies can sound a little tougher. But let’s not kid ourselves… since when have Democrats cared about how much money is spent on anything? They just don’t want money spent on things they don’t like.

And it’s not as though America hasn’t used the “War” name before. The United States operated under a Department of War from 1789 until after World War II. That changed under Democratic President Harry S. Truman, when a Democrat-controlled Congress reorganized the military through the National Security Act and later adopted the more politically palatable Department of Defense name in 1949. Is anyone surprised that the Democrats are the ones who changed the name to something more cowardly?

Trump’s administration already uses “Department of War” as an authorized secondary title, but Congress would have to approve the change to make it official. For now, the war over the war name is still being fought.