Ah, but who's "they"? Names of departments are determined by Congress, and Congress has not renamed the DoD. The executive branch does not normally determine the names of its own departments. If you imagine the American government to be a single coherent entity, one might say "they have full naming rights", but it isn't, and in this case, the part doing the rename isn't the part that properly has the power to do so!

No, the President does not have “full naming rights” over entities defined and named in statute law. The President is bound to faithfully execute that law, but to change it (even if that change is merely to the name of a department or title of an officer specified within it) requires a bill to that effect to be passed by a majority of each house of Congress, which the President may then sign into law, effecting the change.

Because they used millions of dollars of American citizens’ tax revenue to make a meaningless edgelord gesture, amongst a myriad of other reasons why it’s a bizarre and childish thing to do. Stopping there because this isn’t Reddit

no they don't. "department of war" is a "secondary title" of the DoD.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/09/rest...

only congress can change the name.

What are naming rights? China call the sea in the south, well…, South China sea. The same one is called East Sea in Vietnam. Both is official name.

> why. unlike with the gulf of mexico, in this case they have full naming rights.

They actually don't. The official name is still the Department of Defense and only Congress can approve a real name change.

The Trump Executive Order just gives the department permission to use the Department of War name without actually changing the name of the department from the Department of Defense.

That said, despite being anti-Trump I'm fine with calling it the Department of War, it seems a lot more honest.