Trump suggests changing Defense Department back to Department of War

US President Donald Trump suggested Monday that he may rename the Department of Defense back to what it was once called, the Department of War, linking the historical name to past military successes.

"Pete, you started up by saying the Department of Defense, and somehow it didn't sound good to me," Trump told reporters, addressing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. "What are we, defense? Why are we defense?"

Trump connected the original name to historical military victories.

"So it used to be called the Department of War, and it had a stronger sound. And as you know, we won World War One. We won World War Two. We won everything," he said.

He expressed a preference for an offensive military posture over purely defensive positioning.

"I don't want to be defense only. We want defense, but we want offense too," he said.

Speaking separately alongside South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, Trump confirmed discussions about the potential change.

"I think we're going to change the name," he said. "I think we're going to have some information on that maybe soon."

The Department of War operated from 1789 to 1947, when it was reorganized under the National Security Act into separate Army and Air Force departments. These joined the Navy Department to form the National Military Establishment, which became the Department of Defense in 1949.