President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order aimed at enhancing federal research on women’s health, an initiative propelled by First Lady Melania Trump. The order establishes a new women’s health division within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and creates a White House task force dedicated to advancing research and treatment for conditions that disproportionately affect women.
The executive order, announced during a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House, directs federal agencies to prioritize diseases and health issues impacting women, including maternal health, mental health, endometriosis, Alzheimer’s, osteoporosis, heart disease, and stroke. The task force is chaired by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, who recently completed breast cancer treatment.
Melania Trump emphasized the importance of improving women’s health across all stages of life, saying the initiative seeks to ensure women can live healthy, full lives. President Trump described the action as “historic” and expressed surprise that such a division did not previously exist within the federal government.
However, the announcement has drawn scrutiny from some experts and advocacy groups. The NIH already houses an Office of Research on Women’s Health, created in 1990, and it remains unclear whether the new division will receive additional funding or merely coordinate with existing programs. Several women’s health organizations acknowledge the potential benefits of the initiative but emphasize that sustained and robust funding is essential for meaningful progress. They have called on Congress to allocate significant resources to women’s health research.
Critics note that the Trump administration previously proposed cuts to the Women’s Health Initiative, a longstanding federally funded study, though those cuts were canceled following public backlash. Some advocates argue that Congress should establish a standalone women’s health research institute within the NIH, rather than a division subordinate to other institutes, to better address the complex health needs of women.
A 2024 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine highlighted that only a small fraction—about 9 percent—of NIH research funding between 2013 and 2023 was devoted to women’s health, and that the share had declined despite increasing NIH budgets. The report recommended elevating the research office to institute status and significantly expanding funding.
The task force’s specific funding commitments were not disclosed in the executive order, drawing concern from some analysts about the administration’s research priorities. Alina Salganicoff, co-chair of the National Academies committee, questioned how the task force will balance research goals and warned that shifting funds toward particular areas could lead to trade-offs in other critical research.
The new initiative comes months after President Joseph R. Biden Jr. issued his own women’s health executive order, which this latest order rescinded. The Biden administration had also urged for substantial increases in funding, proposing a $12 billion investment to advance the field.
Despite differing opinions on funding and implementation, a coalition of women’s health organizations welcomed the renewed focus on women’s health at the federal level. They underscored that the majority of health conditions affecting women fall outside reproductive and maternal health, encompassing chronic and degenerative diseases that require extensive research and specialized care.
The White House has indicated the task force will begin coordination immediately, with its first meeting held following the announcement. The initiative arrives amid declining presidential support among female voters, with recent polls showing decreased backing for Trump and Republican candidates ahead of the midterm elections scheduled for November 3.