Trump creates new women’s health NIH division and taps Susie Wiles to lead task force
The president called the initiative a ‘historic action’ and praised First Lady Melania Trump’s work on it
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President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday to create a new women's health division at the National Institutes of Health and a dedicated White House task force to bolster federal research into women's health.
White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, who recently completed breast cancer treatment, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will lead the task force, which will coordinate with various federal agencies and programs, the Trump administration said. No specific funding goals were included in the order.
“Beginning today we will change the reality of women’s health,” Melania Trump said at the Monday event. “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 president, who spoke after his wife, said the order will “promote new research and really go after the understudied diseases affecting women.”
Beyond research, the order is intended to promote diagnostic technology and improve treatment. It calls for targeting maternal health, mental health and endometriosis. Other health concerns and diseases are also mentioned, including Alzheimer's, osteoporosis, heart disease and stroke.
The first lady helped shape the order and the task force in consultation with physicians, White House officials, Kennedy and the Republican president. The initiative adds a new dimension to her policy portfolio as first lady and it followed a series of meetings she had with federal health officials.
“She’s accomplished so much,” he said before pivoting into unscripted commentary on White House renovations, including the patio stone that now covers what was once the Rose Garden lawn.
Returning to women's health, the president expressed surprise that some of the order's requirements had not already been imposed.
In Trump's second term, the first lady has focused on improving foster care systems and expanding technology and artificial-intelligence access in education. During Trump's first presidency, her signature initiative, Be Best, focused on child well-being, safe social media use and reducing drug abuse.
The White House ceremony comes weeks before Nov. 3 elections and as the president's job approval ratings have declined, including among women.