Hegseth now ‘Secretary of War’ after dropping ‘woke’ defense label

WorldPolitics
6 Sep 2025 • 6:00 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

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  • Pete Hegseth's office nameplate has been changed from ‘Secretary of Defense’ to ‘Secretary of War’, as shown in a video he shared.
  • The change follows an executive order signed by Donald Trump, which restores the original name of the government agency, abandoned after the Second World War.
  • Donald Trump justified the change by stating that the US had "won everything" before the name change and then "decided to go woke".
  • While the new name can only be a "secondary title" until Congress approves it, the Pentagon's website and social media accounts have already been switched to war.gov.
  • Watch the video in full above.

IN FULL