Sen. Tim Kaine says the fight over calling the Pentagon the “Department of War” is about more than a name — it’s about what message the U.S. wants to send to the world. At a Sept. 16 Center for American Progress event, Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine said he would not support making “Department of War” the Pentagon’s permanent legal name, arguing that the shift to “Department of Defense” after World War II was meant to emphasize defense and diplomacy over war. Trump’s 2025 executive order authorized “Department of War” as a secondary title, but statutory references still remain “Department of Defense” unless Congress changes the law. Kaine said he opposes that permanent change and argued the U.S. should not define itself primarily as a “war maker.”
