At a recent press conference, President Donald Trump described himself, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and other top officials as feeling like “warriors” in the wake of recent U.S. actions in Iran.
While referencing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Trump quipped, “Should we say Secretary of War?”
He went on to note that the Cabinet position was originally called the Secretary of War. “Maybe, for a few weeks, we’ll call it that — because we feel like warriors,” Trump said, acknowledging that the term might not be considered politically correct today.
Historically, the title “Secretary of War” was used from 1789 until 1947, when the National Security Act reorganized the U.S. military structure and created the Department of Defense. Under the old system, the Secretary of War oversaw the Army, while the Navy was managed separately by the Secretary of the Navy.
