Trump signs executive order creating NIH women’s health division and White House task force
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday that creates a dedicated women’s health division within the National Institutes of Health and establishes a White House task force on the issue. The signing ceremony in Washington was attended by First Lady Melania Trump, who praised the move as setting a new standard for women’s health in America.
“This is a transformative moment for women in America. Beginning today, we will change the reality of women’s health,” Melania said. “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.”
The order requires the new NIH division to be operational within 90 days. While it will not replace the agency’s existing Office of Research on Women’s Health, it is intended to have a broader scope that goes beyond research to accelerate scientific discoveries, expand clinical access and modernize care at every stage of a woman’s life. The first lady’s office outlined five pillars for innovation, including funding targeted research on conditions such as endometriosis and shortening the timeline for promising therapies to reach female patients.
Melania highlighted “super intelligence, advanced biotechnology and groundbreaking therapies” as tools that offer a unique chance to reinvent women’s healthcare. “In 2026, medical advances can do more than just prolong life,” she added. “It should give women the freedom to live life to its fullest, to pursue our dreams, experience love, discover, create, travel and lead.”
The White House task force will be co‑chaired by newly cancer‑free White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The order directs HHS to fund the task force’s administrative costs but does not specify any particular budget figures.
Melania Trump has kept a relatively low public profile during the second Trump administration, appearing less often than in the first term but still championing issues such as foster‑care improvements and the role of technology, including artificial intelligence, in education. During the first term she launched the “Be Best” campaign focused on child well‑being, safe social media use and combating opioid abuse.
Critics have questioned how effective the new order can be given the administration’s broader cuts to the federal workforce. Thousands of NIH employees have been laid off, and the agency’s staff level is reportedly at its lowest in decades. In addition, NIH was ordered to reduce spending by 35 percent across all divisions, a cut that amounts to roughly $2.6 billion. In April 2025, HHS faced widespread condemnation and a multi‑state lawsuit after abruptly terminating regional contracts for the Women’s Health Initiative, the nation’s largest longitudinal study of older women’s health, raising concerns about the future of research on cardiovascular disease, cancer and osteoporotic fractures in senior women.