Trump Restores Department of War as War Title, DoD Favored in Poll

President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Sept. 5 restoring the historical name Department of War as an officially sanctioned secondary title for the federal agency that oversees the U.S. military, but a recent national survey shows most Americans are continuing to use the longstanding name Department of Defense. The order also authorized Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth to use the title secretary of war in official correspondence and public communications, and Hegseth has replaced the secretary of defense placard on his office door with one that reads secretary of war.

A survey of 1,131 U.S. adults conducted Sept. 30 through Oct. 2, with a margin of error of about four percentage points, found 72 percent said they are more likely to refer to the agency as the Department of Defense, while 18 percent said they would adopt the Department of War label. The preference for the Defense title was strongest among Democrats, 90 percent of whom favored it, and among independents, at 72 percent. A majority of Republicans, 55 percent, also said they would continue to use Department of Defense, while 34 percent said they would adopt the Department of War name. The survey showed a...