Trump renames the Pentagon the ‘Department of War’ as Hegseth promises ‘maximum lethality’: Live updates

Who knew Harry Truman was so “woke?”

According to President Donald Trump, the 33rd man to be sworn into the office he now holds — the same person who ordered the only use of atomic weapons against civilians during wartime — signed legislation creating the Department of Defense in 1947, not out of a desire to improve the country’s military readiness but out of what Trump posited was “political correctness.”

But a search warrant seen by The Independent shows that agents were seeking the arrests of only four workers at the facility — who are Latino.

Agents arrested 475 people on Thursday at a battery facility on the sprawling Hyundai campus in Ellabell, Georgia — roughly 30 miles west of Savannah — as part of an “ongoing criminal investigation into allegations of unlawful employment practices and other serious federal crimes,” according to Homeland Security.

Trump signed an executive order officially changing the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War as Pentagon head Pete Hegseth promised “maximum lethality.” The August jobs report revealed the US added only 22,000 jobs, falling short of predictions, with unemployment rising to 4.3 per cent, the highest since 2021. The Trump administration is scrambling to explain the poor jobs figures, with officials providing conflicting reasons.Trump criticised bipartisan calls for his administration to release Jeffrey Epstein case files, dismissing the demands as a ‘Democrat HOAX’ designed to divert attention from his administration’s achievements. Georgia’s Governor Brian Kemp announced the deployment of over 300 National Guard members to Washington, D.C., to provide direct support to law enforcement, with soldiers potentially armed. The Trump administration is abandoning a plan that would require airlines to compensate passengers for flight delays and cancellations, a move that will impact consumer protections.

A federal judge on Friday ruled against the Trump administration’s attempt to end temporary legal protections that have granted more than 1 million people from Haiti and Venezuela the right to live and work in the United States.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Edward Chen of San Francisco grants the plaintiffs’ request, meaning 600,000 Venezuelans whose temporary protected status expired in April or was set to expire by September 10 can now stay and work in the United States.

Trump signed an executive order Friday afternoon to change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War to indicate that America has “the strongest military,” he told reporters from the Oval Office.

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order establishing a new designation for “state sponsors of wrongful detention.”

The measure aims to deter the arbitrary detention or hostage-taking of American citizens overseas through the threat of associated sanctions.

This new classification mirrors the existing “state sponsors of terrorism” designation already applied by the U.S. to certain nations.

It grants the State Department the authority to impose various penalties on countries falling under the label, including economic restrictions, visa limitations for those involved, and travel advisories for Americans considering visits to such territories.

President Donald Trump said on Friday that the 2026 G20 summit will be held in Miami, Florida.

“As we celebrate our nation’s 250th anniversary next year, the United States will have the honor of hosting … the G20 summit right here in America for the first time in nearly 20 years,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

Pressed on what the venue would be, Trump says the summit would be at his Doral golf club in Miami.

He said of having the summit at his property: “There’s no money in it.” But Trump added, “We want to make sure it’s good.”