“Restoring the name 'Department of War' will sharpen this Department's focus on our national interest and signal to adversaries America's willingness to wage war for protect their interests,” says a document outlining the upcoming executive order, cited by The Washington Post.

News of Friday’s order was first reported by Fox News.

On Thursday, while at Fort Benning, Hegseth indicated the name change would take place Friday.

“I would say be ready tomorrow,” Hegseth said when asked about a possible change. “It’s something that… words matter. Titles matter. Cultures matter. And George Washington founded the War Department. We’ll see.”

The last time the department’s name was changed, an act of Congress was required.

Implementing the order will require modifications to public websites and signage at Pentagon offices, according to a White House official. Other long-term projects are also underway, the official added.

Trump recently indicated that the change was imminent.

“Everybody likes that we had an incredible history of winning when it was the War Department,” Trump told reporters on August 25. “Then we changed it to the Department of Defense.”

The United States used the title War Department for its military agency until 1949, when it was renamed the Department of Defense in accordance with a series of massive reforms included in the National Security Act of 1947.