(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump on Monday said he wants to rename the Department of Defense the “Department of War.”
“It used to be called the Department of War. It had a stronger sound … we are defenders,” Trump said from the Oval Office, surrounded by members of his Cabinet. “If you people behind me want to take a little vote and change it back to what it was when we used to win wars all the time, that’s OK with me… We want defense but we want offense too, OK?”
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth replied, “It’s coming soon, sir.”
Under President George Washington, Congress established the U.S. War Department in 1789 to oversee the “operation and maintenance of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps,” according to the White House.
Some National Guard units in DC now carrying firearms
Fast-forward to 1949, and the National Security Act was amended, renaming the department the Department of Defense. The change also overturned the Cabinet-level statuses of Army, Navy and Air Force secretaries, making them report to the secretary of defense.
Trump made the remarks Monday after signing a pair of executive orders targeting the burning of the American flag and cashless bail in Washington, D.C.
The administration has been working on plans to deploy thousands of National Guard members to Chicago, according to published reports, coinciding with vocal opposition from Chicago’s mayor and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker against what they consider to be federal overreach.
The Guard mobilization in Chicago, if it does come to pass, would resemble the military presence Trump ordered in Washington, D.C., in an effort to combat crime and homelessness. National Guard troops have now been authorized to carry service weapons in the capital, the Pentagon said Sunday.
Libbey Dean and Michael Ramsey contributed to this report.
