President Trump’s renaming of the Defense Department comes amid his campaign for a Nobel Peace Prize. On Saturday, he wrote on social media that Chicago was “about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”
President Trump signed an executive order on Friday to change the name of the Defense Department to the Department of War. Without congressional approval, the new name will be only ceremonial.
As he signed an order recognizing the Defense Department as the “Department of War,” President Trump said that the country “could have won every war, but we really chose to be very politically correct.”
“The Department of War sends a signal,” President Trump said on Friday. The change, he added, was a “much more appropriate name, especially in light of where the world is right now.”
President Trump and his defense secretary say they want to return to the era when America won wars. They largely ignore the greatest accomplishment of the past 80 years: avoiding superpower conflict.
President Trump and his defense secretary say they want to return to the era when America won wars. They largely ignore the greatest accomplishment of the past 80 years: avoiding superpower conflict.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia and a Trump ally, has backed a bill that would require the release of files on Jeffrey Epstein.
The U.S. guided-missile destroyer Sampson in Panama City on Tuesday. The Pentagon has been amassing a small armada of warships in the southern Caribbean.
The proposal would send military lawyers to work at the Justice Department in an effort to reduce the capacity of the immigration system to process a backlog.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unilaterally halted a weapons shipment to Ukraine on July 2 despite internal military assessments showing the aid would not compromise American military readiness, NBC News reported on July 4, citing three U.S. officials.
The pause in aid, which included critical air defense systems and ammunition, reportedly caught the State Department, members of Congress, Ukraine, and key European allies off guard.
Ukraine suffered one of the largest attacks on July 4, with President Volodymyr Zelensky calling for more air defense to protect civilians in the cities. The attack on Kyiv killed one person and injured 23 more.
A senior U.S. military review had concluded that while some munitions stockpiles, including precision weapons, were low, they had not fallen below critical thresholds, according to NBC. Despite this, Hegseth opted to stop the shipment. This is reportedly his third such move since February.
"We are not at any lower point, stockpile-wise, than we’ve been in the three-and-a-half years of the Ukraine conflict," Congressman Adam Smith the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said. Smith, who said his staff reviewed the Pentagon's figures, called the justification "disingenuous."
The shipment reportedly included dozens of Patriot interceptors, 155 mm artillery rounds, Hellfire missiles, guided missile systems (GMLRS), Stinger and AIM air-to-air missiles, and grenade launchers.
Two sources told NBC that some of the weapons had already been loaded onto trucks in Poland when the halt was ordered.
Zelensky recently called Patriot systems "real defenders of life," since Patriot missile systems are the best air defense in Ukraine's arsenal. They are considered to be the most effective measure against Russian ballistic missiles like Iskander and Kinzhal.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell described earlier the decision as part of a broader "capability review" to ensure U.S. forces remain equipped.
The halt has initiated debate over the future of U.S. support for Ukraine.
Lawmakers from both parties, including Republican Congressman Michael McCaul, expressed frustration at the lack of advance notice. "Now is the time to show Putin we mean business," McCaul wrote on X.
Republican Congressman Joe Wilson also reacted to the halt, warning of its consequences amid Russia's ongoing strikes.
"As Americans begin to enjoy the sounds of fireworks in celebration of our Nation's Independence, war criminal (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, who is losing his pathetic war, resorts to scorched earth tactics across Ukrainian cities that predate Moscow's existence," Wilson wrote.
Wilson said he is "confident the Department of Defense will advance President Trump’s objectives stated at The Hague to send additional air defense and approved weapons to help stop this absolute depravity, as allies have and must continue doing at a rapid pace."
Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick has requested an emergency White House briefing, warning the decision could cost lives.
Trump has denied that the U.S. paused shipments on July 3, contradicting both Pentagon confirmation and reporting.
"We haven't," Trump told a reporter. "We're giving weapons." He also claimed the Biden administration had "emptied out our whole country" and insisted Washington must prioritize its own defense.
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