'Woke': Trump renames Pentagon as ‘Department of War’; GOP hails move as tribute to US military

US President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order renaming the Department of Defense as the Department of War, reviving the title used by the US military until 1947.“It's a much more appropriate name, especially in light of where the world is right now,” Trump said, calling the Defense title “woke.” He added, as quoed by AP, “We decided to go woke and change the name to Department of Defense. So we're going Department of War.”The move echoes Trump’s repeated calls to restore the old name, which he has argued “just sounded better.” Speaking Thursday to soldiers at Fort Benning in Georgia, he hinted at the change, telling them he might have “a slightly different title tomorrow.” In August, he said, “Everybody likes that we had an unbelievable history of victory when it was Department of War. Then we changed it to Department of Defense.”Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, who appeared alongside Trump, backed the change. “We haven't won a major war since,” he said, referring to the 1947 renaming. “We’re going to go on offense, not just on defense.”