War Directorate: Pentagon Rebranded, War Machine Reinforced, White House Launches New Directorate
War Directorate: His administration has changed the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War at the White House, only days after U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order authorizing the change.
A U.S. official and another person familiar with the situation said the Directorate of War had replaced the Directorate of Defense, a crucial part of the White House National Security Council (NSC).
The sources, who requested anonymity because the rebranding has not yet been made public, said that staff in the office are now officially titled “directors for war” and report to a newly appointed special assistant to the president for war.
According to one of the individuals, the move was approved this week by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has been serving as the national security advisor since May. When asked to confirm the new moniker, a White House official simply added: “#WAR!”
Critics Slam the Shift from Defense to War as Symbolic and Dangerous
Whether the rebranding will actually impact U.S. policy is still unknown. But critics argue that the rhetorical shift from “defense” to “war” exposes the absurdity of Trump’s leadership—a president who regularly refers to himself as a global peacemaker, even while overseeing a government that now openly embraces the language of warfare.
Supporters of the move are already calling for Trump to be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, despite the aggressive rebranding.
Opponents of the Pentagon’s name change—revealed just last week—say the move will require an expensive global overhaul of signage, letterheads, military documents, and diplomatic placards. But Pentagon CEO Pete Hegseth defended the change, calling it “not just about words—it’s about the warrior ethos.”
Trump’s National Security Council Shrinks as ‘War Directorate’ Takes Center Stage
Each NSC directorate traditionally manages a specific area—from legislative affairs to intelligence to geographical regions like Europe or East Asia. The now-defunct Defense Directorate typically led on matters of military readiness and armaments.
But under Trump, the NSC’s power has significantly eroded. While the new War Directorate remains one of the most important branches of the NSC, many of its staff have either resigned or been fired. Much of its former authority has been handed off to the intelligence community, the State Department, and the Pentagon.
Though the War Directorate now sits at the heart of Trump’s foreign policy machine, the long-term consequences of this dramatic rebrand—both in substance and in symbolism—remain uncertain.