Updated October 19, 2026, 1:57 p.m. ET
First lady Melania Trump pressed her husband’s administration to give women’s health a greater priority in medical research, USA TODAY has learned — a move that culminated in an Oct. 19 executive order creating a new division at the National Institutes of Health.
President Donald Trump created the Division of Women’s Health and a White House Women’s Health Task Force aimed at rethinking the federal government’s approach to women’s health, according to a White House document obtained by USA TODAY.
The initiative comes amid a series of meetings hosted by the first lady herself in the East Wing, including working sessions with doctors and other experts from the public and private sectors. She met with health and human services officials to create the task force.
The first lady led the signing event in the Rose Garden, delivering a speech highlighting the need for research in women’s health, using artificial intelligence to accelerate health discoveries, ensuring care is accessible and affordable, and tackling topics that were not previously discussed.
“Our mission must serve women at every stage of life, from young girls just starting out, to mothers facing a complex array of responsibilities, to mature women who deserve to enjoy vitality, dignity and independence,” Melania Trump said. “In 2026, medical advances can do more than just extend life. They should give women the freedom to live their lives to the fullest: pursue their dreams, experience love, discover, create, travel and lead.”
The new division will not replace the NIH Office of Women’s Health Research, which has protected women’s health since 1990. Its broader mandate will extend beyond research, coordinating agencies to accelerate scientific discoveries and improve health care for girls and women.
The task force will be led by Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, who recently spoke about her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy will lead women’s health policy after an 18-month term marked by the dismantling of public health initiatives, changes in disease prevention and vaccine policy, and significant staff reductions.
This also comes at a time when menopause is having its day in Washington.
Kennedy announced in November 2025 that the Federal Drug Administration was removing the black box warning from some hormone replacement treatments after more than 20 years, making them more available to women.
The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Aging held the first congressional hearing on the issue. The Food and Drug Administration convened doctors and experts to discuss the benefits of testosterone for women. HHS also met with drugmakers about increasing the supply of estrogen patches and with a panel of doctors about expanding vaginal estrogen use in postmenopausal women.
The order highlights many midlife health issues, including osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease and stroke, while also targeting maternal health, mental health and endometriosis, among other health issues, according to the first briefing document obtained by USA TODAY. The White House has not shared how much money is going toward research or treatment.
This moment positions Melania Trump as an advocate for women’s health.
During her husband’s first term, she championed the cause of children and online safety by launching Be Best.
During this presidential term, she has focused primarily on children, including reforming foster care and investing in access to technology for education. In September, she launched the Imperia initiative bringing together female CEOs to network and influence policy.
“Today, we establish a new ambition: to transform hardship and pain into scientific discoveries, effective treatments and lasting cures. We are women. We are resilient, capable and deserve lives defined not by the burdens we carry, but by the possibilities available to us,” Melania Trump said at the signing ceremony in the Rose Garden. “Our health should never limit the fullness of our lives.”
The president briefly explained during the event that his wife was the reason for the creation of the new office and task force.
When Melania Trump first contacted the president about creating a new office, he said he didn’t believe a women’s health office didn’t already exist within the NIH.
“I said, ‘Are you sure they don’t have that?’ Who the hell wouldn’t have a women’s health division? » said the president. “Today’s order also creates the White House Women’s Health Task Force, which will mobilize the entire federal government to coordinate actions focused on improving women themselves.”
President Trump’s focus on women’s health comes two weeks before the midterm elections, when his approval rating among women is 29 percent, according to an August poll by the University of Amherst.
President Joe Biden signed an executive order on women’s health in March 2024, which also addressed heart disease, menopause, perimenopause, endometriosis and Alzheimer’s disease.
The NIH typically spends about $5 billion a year on women’s health, or about 10 percent of its annual budget, according to the NIH. This figure has remained stable regardless of administration. It was unclear how much that might change.
Some women’s health advocates say they appreciate the administration’s commitment to improving research and treatment for women’s health, noting that the lack of progress has transcended political party lines. They also found hope in the first lady’s focus on affordable treatment.
But they will also follow with caution.
“The cascade of harm that stems from the President’s long record of words and actions – proudly taking credit for the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe V Wade, codifying punitive health care cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and curbing scientific research to torpedo the DEO, to name a few, is at odds with the findings presented in the executive order as proof that the Whie House supports women’s health,” Jennifer said Weiss-Wolf, executive director of Birnbaum. Women’s Leadership Center at New York University School of Law and author of “When in Menopause: A User’s Manual & Citizen’s Guide.”
Laura Trujillo is a national health and wellness columnist. She is the author of “Stepping Back from the Ledge: A Daughter’s Search for Truth and Renewal” and can be reached at ltrujillo@usatoday.com.
Gn headline
