US President Donald Trump is preparing to sign an executive order on Friday to rename the Department of Defence as the Department of War. The White House says the move is part of a wider push to project a stronger and more aggressive image of America’s military. A senior official confirmed the plan, though the change would normally need an act of Congress. According to people familiar with the matter, the administration is exploring legal ways to bypass a vote. The War Department existed from America’s independence until 1947, when it was replaced by the Department of Defence under President Harry Truman.Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-india-ties-at-worst-in-decades-ex-us-nsa-john-bolton-says-trump-ruined-ties-with-modi-pushed-new-delhi-closer-to-china-russia-1757044750382">US-India ties at 'worst in decades': Ex US NSA John Bolton says Trump ruined ties with Modi, pushed New Delhi closer to China, Russia</a><h2>Hegseth repeats Trump’s call</h2>Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has openly embraced the term “warfighters”, backed the president’s plan. On Thursday night, he posted simply “Department of War” on X. He has even renamed his Pentagon conference room the “W.A.R. Room.” In a Fox News interview, Hegseth said, “We won World War I, and we won World War II, not with the Department of Defence, but with a War Department. As the president has said, we’re not just defence, we’re offence.”<h2>Cost concerns over Pentagon overhaul</h2>Renaming the department could cost billions, with the need to update signage, stationery, emblems and plaques across hundreds of Pentagon agencies and bases worldwide. Critics warn this could undermine Trump’s own efforts to cut military spending and waste. Still, the rebrand fits Trump’s push to overhaul the post-World War II national security system created under Truman. He has already slashed the National Security Council and cut several Pentagon agencies.<h2>‘Defence is too defensive’</h2>Trump has raised the idea repeatedly since taking office, even with NATO allies. At a rally last month, he argued, “As Department of War, we won everything. We won everything. We’re going to have to go back to that.” Explaining the logic, he added, “Defence is too defensive. And we want to be defensive, but we want to be offensive too if we have to be. So, it just sounded to me like a better name.”<h2>Democrats hit back</h2>Democrats wasted no time criticising the plan. Congressman Darren Soto mocked Trump on X, saying, “Trump is begging for the Nobel Peace Prize. This should cinch it for him right?”

President Trump plans to rename the Department of Defence as the Department of War to project military strength. The move, backed by Defence Secretary Hegseth, may bypass Congress through legal means.

US President Donald Trump is preparing to sign an executive order on Friday to rename the Department of Defence as the Department of War. The White House says the move is part of a wider push to project a stronger and more aggressive image of America’s military. A senior official confirmed the plan, though the change would normally need an act of Congress. According to people familiar with the matter, the administration is exploring legal ways to bypass a vote. The War Department existed from America’s independence until 1947, when it was replaced by the Department of Defence under President Harry Truman. Also read: US-India ties at 'worst in decades': Ex US NSA John Bolton says Trump ruined ties with Modi, pushed New Delhi closer to China, Russia Hegseth repeats Trump’s call Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has openly embraced the term “warfighters”, backed the president’s plan. On Thursday night, he posted simply “Department of War” on X. He has even renamed his Pentagon conference room the “W.A.R. Room.” In a Fox News interview, Hegseth said, “We won World War I, and we won World War II, not with the Department of Defence, but with a War Department. As the president has said, we’re not just defence, we’re offence.” Cost concerns over Pentagon overhaul Renaming the department could cost billions, with the need to update signage, stationery, emblems and plaques across hundreds of Pentagon agencies and bases worldwide. Critics warn this could undermine Trump’s own efforts to cut military spending and waste. Still, the rebrand fits Trump’s push to overhaul the post-World War II national security system created under Truman. He has already slashed the National Security Council and cut several Pentagon agencies. ‘Defence is too defensive’ Trump has raised the idea repeatedly since taking office, even with NATO allies. At a rally last month, he argued, “As Department of War, we won everything. We won everything. We’re going to have to go back to that.” Explaining the logic, he added, “Defence is too defensive. And we want to be defensive, but we want to be offensive too if we have to be. So, it just sounded to me like a better name.” Democrats hit back Democrats wasted no time criticising the plan. Congressman Darren Soto mocked Trump on X, saying, “Trump is begging for the Nobel Peace Prize. This should cinch it for him right?”

President Trump plans to rename the Department of Defence as the Department of War to project military strength. The move, backed by Defence Secretary Hegseth, may bypass Congress through legal means.

‘Defence is too defensive’: Trump wants Pentagon renamed as ‘Department of War’ and it will cost US BILLIONS

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has ignited controversy by posting a poll on X, asking whether the Pentagon should be called the "Department of Defence" or revert to its old name, the "Department of War." The move has sparked intense discussions, especially after Hegseth’s recent meeting with Elon Musk at the Pentagon. Watch this report for more updates!

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth asks people to choose between 'defence' and 'war'

Amazon.com Inc on Monday accused US&nbsp;President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions/donald-trumps-attitude-towards-india-unpredictable-unreliable-238560">Donald&nbsp;Trump</a>&nbsp;of exerting "improper pressure" and bias that led the Department of Defence to award a lucrative $10 billion&nbsp;cloud&nbsp;contract&nbsp;to rival <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/growth-in-cloud-computing-business-helps-lift-microsoft-corps-quarterly-revenue-2847">Microsoft Corp</a>.

In a complaint filed in the US&nbsp;Court of Federal Claims,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/amazon-offers-employees-10000-to-quit-launch-delivery-business-218463">Amazon</a>&nbsp;said&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;launched "repeated public and behind-the-scenes attacks to steer" the&nbsp;Pentagon&nbsp;cloud&nbsp;contract&nbsp;called the Joint Enterprise Defence Infrastructure, popularly known as JEDI, away from&nbsp;Amazon&nbsp;Web Services.

The heavily redacted complaint said&nbsp;Trump's motive was to "harm his perceived political enemy-Jeffrey P. Bezos, founder, and CEO of AWS's parent company,&nbsp;Amazon.com and owner of the Washington Post."

Trump's interference made it impossible for the&nbsp;Pentagon&nbsp;to judge a winner "reasonably, consistently, an in a fair and equal manner,"&nbsp;Amazon&nbsp;said.

Trump&nbsp;has long criticized Bezos and&nbsp;Amazon&nbsp;over low tax payments and accused the Washington Post of acting as a lobbyist for Bezos and&nbsp;Amazon&nbsp;and spreading "fake news."

Amazon&nbsp;called for a reevaluation of the proposals submitted to the&nbsp;Pentagon&nbsp;and a new award decision.

"The question is whether the President of the United States should be allowed to use the budget of DoD to pursue his own personal and political ends," the 103-page complaint said.

Amazon&nbsp;and the Department of Defense did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Details from the complaint were first reported by Bloomberg last week.

In recent congressional testimony, a top&nbsp;Pentagon&nbsp;technology official, Dana Deasy, denied that&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;or the White House influenced the JEDI selection process.

A challenge to the Defense Department's award announced in October was widely expected by legal experts, analysts and consultants, especially after&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;publicly derided&nbsp;Amazon's bid for the high-stakes&nbsp;contract.

Amazon.com Inc on Monday accused US President Donald Trump of exerting "improper pressure" and bias that led the Department of Defence to award a lucrative $10 billion cloud contract to rival Microsoft Corp.

Amazon.com Inc on Monday accused US President Donald Trump of exerting "improper pressure" and bias that led the Department of Defence to award a lucrative $10 billion cloud contract to rival Microsoft Corp. In a complaint filed in the US Court of Federal Claims, Amazon said Trump launched "repeated public and behind-the-scenes attacks to steer" the Pentagon cloud contract called the Joint Enterprise Defence Infrastructure, popularly known as JEDI, away from Amazon Web Services. The heavily redacted complaint said Trump's motive was to "harm his perceived political enemy-Jeffrey P. Bezos, founder, and CEO of AWS's parent company, Amazon.com and owner of the Washington Post." Trump's interference made it impossible for the Pentagon to judge a winner "reasonably, consistently, an in a fair and equal manner," Amazon said. Trump has long criticized Bezos and Amazon over low tax payments and accused the Washington Post of acting as a lobbyist for Bezos and Amazon and spreading "fake news." Amazon called for a reevaluation of the proposals submitted to the Pentagon and a new award decision. "The question is whether the President of the United States should be allowed to use the budget of DoD to pursue his own personal and political ends," the 103-page complaint said. Amazon and the Department of Defense did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Details from the complaint were first reported by Bloomberg last week. In recent congressional testimony, a top Pentagon technology official, Dana Deasy, denied that Trump or the White House influenced the JEDI selection process. A challenge to the Defense Department's award announced in October was widely expected by legal experts, analysts and consultants, especially after Trump publicly derided Amazon's bid for the high-stakes contract.

Amazon lawsuit blames Trump for loss of Pentagon cloud contract

The Pentagon today denied Pakistani claim that the US carried out a <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/us-drone-strike-kills-haqqani-network-commander-2-others-in-pakistan-30623" target="_blank">drone strike inside its territory</a> targeting a terrorist hideout.

&quot;In response to Pakistan government claims that the US military conducted air strikes in Pakistan on January 24, I can confirm that there were not any Department of Defence air strikes outside of Afghanistan,&quot; defence spokesman Lt Col Mike Andrews said.

Drone strikes, if any, are normally conducted by either CIA or the military.

The CIA did not immediately respond to a question on the drone strike inside Pakistan.

Pakistan, in a statement, condemned the US drone strike in Kurram Agency, saying the &quot;unilateral actions are detrimental to the spirit of cooperation between the two countries in the fight against terrorism&quot;.

According to news reports, Haqqani network commander Ehsan alias Khawari and two of his companions were allegedly killed during the drone strike in the Kurram Agency area of Pakistan.&nbsp;

'I can confirm that there were not any Department of Defence air strikes outside of Afghanistan,' defence spokesman Lt Col Mike Andrews said

The Pentagon today denied Pakistani claim that the US carried out a drone strike inside its territory targeting a terrorist hideout. "In response to Pakistan government claims that the US military conducted air strikes in Pakistan on January 24, I can confirm that there were not any Department of Defence air strikes outside of Afghanistan," defence spokesman Lt Col Mike Andrews said. Drone strikes, if any, are normally conducted by either CIA or the military. The CIA did not immediately respond to a question on the drone strike inside Pakistan. Pakistan, in a statement, condemned the US drone strike in Kurram Agency, saying the "unilateral actions are detrimental to the spirit of cooperation between the two countries in the fight against terrorism". According to news reports, Haqqani network commander Ehsan alias Khawari and two of his companions were allegedly killed during the drone strike in the Kurram Agency area of Pakistan.

Pentagon denies Pakistani claim of drone strike in its territory