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Trump Signs Executive Order for Women's Health Task Force
· Confirmed
In Short: President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a White House Women's Health Task Force and a new NIH division, backed by First Lady Melania Trump.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday that establishes a new White House Women's Health Task Force and a dedicated division at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to focus on women's health issues.
The executive order, backed by First Lady Melania Trump, aims to address a range of health concerns affecting women, including maternal health, mental health, and endometriosis.
During a Rose Garden signing ceremony, Trump expressed surprise that such a division did not already exist, recalling a conversation with Melania Trump where she confirmed its absence.
Melania Trump emphasized the transformative nature of the initiative, stating, 'Beginning today we will change the reality of women's health.' She outlined five pillars of women’s health innovation, focusing on care for women at every stage of life.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will lead the task force, which is set to hold its first meeting the following Monday.
The initiative also rescinds women's health initiatives from the previous administration, focusing instead on translating research into improved clinical care.
Trump praised Melania's work, calling it an 'outstanding contribution' to the well-being of American children and families.
The executive order does not specify funding goals, but it aims to improve federal coordination on women's health research and policy.
Melania Trump highlighted the need for more research in critical areas such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and Alzheimer's, emphasizing the importance of using artificial intelligence and emerging technologies to advance understanding of how diseases affect women.
The first lady noted that advances in science and greater openness around once-taboo subjects create an opportunity to 'reinvent women’s healthcare.'
Trump's move comes after a series of meetings Melania had with federal health officials, and it reflects her commitment to modernizing women's healthcare and closing the research gap.
The NIH already has an Office of Research on Women’s Health, established in 1990, but the new division aims to improve the government's ability to coordinate research.
What this adds
The executive order does not include specific funding goals.
Background
US President Donald Trump has waived sanctions targeting Russia, citing American national interests.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday instructing federal agencies to refer to artificial intelligence as 'super intelligence' in official documents and communications.
What's confirmed
- The Republican president signed an executive order that creates a new women's health division at the National Institutes of Health and a White House task force to focus on the issue.
- About 4 in 10 independent women supported Trump during the 2024 election against Democrat Kamala Harris and in the pre-presidency period, according to AP-NORC polls.
- "Previous generations fought for women's rights. Our generation will fight to discover the cures that will ensure a woman can live her life in health and to the fullest."
- "promote new research and really go after the understudied diseases affecting women."
- "Who the hell wouldn't have a women's health division?" he said, after recalling that he'd asked Melania Trump, "Are you sure they don't have that?" The executive order calls for targeting maternal health, mental health and endometriosis.
- It also mentions other health concerns and diseases, including Alzheimer's, osteoporosis, heart disease and stroke.
- Shifting back to women's health, the president expressed surprise that some of the order's requirements had not already been imposed.
- The president called it a "historic action" and praised the first lady's work.
- "Beginning today we will change the reality of women's health," Melania Trump said.
- That panel was set to hold its first meeting Monday after the Trumps held a Rose Garden signing ceremony.
- White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, who recently completed treatment for breast cancer, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F.
- First lady Melania Trump joined him for a signing ceremony in the Rose Garden and said the executive order will make progress on five objectives: "This is a transformative moment for women in America," the first lady said.
What's still developing
- "Who the hell wouldn't have a women's health division. Melania said, 'They don't have it.'" The president said Americans will soon hear about "incredible things that we're doing" to get women the care they need, although he didn't offer specifics.
- US President Donald Trump waves as he walks with first lady Melania Trump after touring the National Archives Museum with Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan, in Washington, D.C., US, September 25, 2026.
- “It was abundantly clear that women’s healthcare needs to be modernized, the research gap closed, and further, the need to accelerate the discovery of treatments and cures was glaring,” Melania Trump said in a statement.
- The event marked a relatively rare public appearance by Melania Trump, who has generally stayed out of the spotlight during her husband's time in the White House.