President Trump and Pete Hegseth, now known as the Secretary of War, have unveiled the idea of changing the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War. At first, this might seem like a step backward for peace, but former congressman and presidential candidate Dr. Ron Paul explains that this move actually removes the veil from the department and allows Americans to see it for what it has always been. He writes:
But at the same time, the US has been at war nearly constantly since the end of World War II, so it’s not like the “Defense Department” has been in any way a defensive department.
With that in mind, returning the Department of Defense to the Department of War, which is how it started, may not be such a bad idea after all – as long as we can be honest about the rest of the terms around our warmaking.
If we return to a “War Department,” then we should also return to the Constitutional requirement that any military activity engaged in by that department short of defending against an imminent attack on the US requires a Congressional declaration of war. That was the practice followed when it was called the War Department and we should return to it.
Dropping the notion that we have a “Defense Department” would free us from the charade that our massive military spending budget was anything but a war budget. No more “defense appropriations” bills in Congress. Let’s call them “war appropriations” bills. Let the American people understand what so much of their hard-earned money is being taken to support. It’s not “defense.” It’s “war.” And none of it has benefitted the American people.
Read more here.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth discussed the change with Fox and Friends:
JUST IN – SecDef PETE HEGSETH on changing to the Department of WAR: “We’re not just defense, we’re offense!”
“Standby on it…we won WW1, WW2, not with the Dept. of Defense – with a WAR Department…We’re reestablishing the warrior ethos. We want warriors…not endless… pic.twitter.com/0MyZH4YmHp
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 3, 2025
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