WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday directed the federal government to bolster federal research into women's health through all stages of their lives, a move pushed by his wife, first lady Melania Trump.
The Republican president signed an executive order creating a Women’s Health Division at the National Institutes of Health and a separate White House Women's Health Task Force. The panel was set to hold its first meeting on Monday.
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“Beginning today we will change the reality of women’s health,” Melania Trump 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 president spoke after his wife and said the order will “promote new research and really go after the understudied diseases affecting women.” The order is also intended to promote diagnostic technology and improve treatment.
White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, who recently completed treatment for breast cancer, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will lead the White House task force. Donald Trump said the panel will coordinate with various federal agencies and programs. The order does not include specific funding goals.
The initiative follows meetings the first lady had with the president, Kennedy and other federal health officials to help shape the order and the task force.
The president called it a "historic action” and praised her work.
“She’s accomplished so much,” he said before pivoting into unscripted commentary about White House renovations, including the patio stone now covering what used to be the Rose Garden lawn.
Shifting back to women's health, the president expressed surprise that some of the order's requirements had not already been imposed.
“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 NIH has an Office of Research on Women’s Health, established in 1990 to advance understanding of the biological and social factors that influence women's health and disease, according to its website.
A goal of the new Women's Health Division is to improve the government's ability to coordinate research, according to a fact sheet distributed by the White House.
The executive order signed Monday calls for more research into key areas of women's health, including maternal health, mental health, endometriosis, infertility, fibroids and menopause. It also mentions other health concerns, including Alzheimer’s and heart disease, osteoporosis and stroke.
The White House announcement comes about two weeks before Nov. 3 elections and as Donald Trump’s job approval ratings have declined.
About one-third of women now approve of how Trump is handling the presidency, according to recent AP-NORC polling. About two-thirds of women disapproved of how Trump was handing healthcare issues in a July AP-NORC poll.
An AP-NORC poll conducted earlier in October found women more likely than men to say healthcare is “one of the most important issues” in the upcoming election.
It was unclear whether Trump's order conflicts with his earlier executive actions curtailing federal programs and policies with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion.
The administration’s broad cuts to scientific research have included studies focusing on women as it continues to eliminate grants with a “DEI” or diversity focus. Last year, the administration announced that the long-running Women’s Health Initiative, a study of preventive health strategies, would be closed early before abruptly reversing that decision amid protest.
In 2023, the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden signed an executive order as he announced a White House initiative to improve how the federal government approaches and funds research into the health of women, who make up more than half the U.S. population. The initiative was led by first lady Jill Biden.
Before leaving the White House, the Bidens highlighted Jill Biden’s effort and said the research initiative had attracted nearly $1 billion in federal funding, including from the Defense Department and NIH.
Trump's executive order rescinded the Biden effort.
The Trump White House said the steps announced Monday go beyond what was accomplished under Biden, citing the planned use of artificial intelligence, which Trump calls “super intelligence,” and creating a government-wide task force rather than having the first lady lead the initiative.
The initiative adds a new dimension to Melania Trump’s policy portfolio as first lady.
In Donald Trump's second term, Melania Trump has focused on improving foster care systems, expanding technology and artificial-intelligence access in education, and reuniting children separated from their families by Russia's war against Ukraine.
In Trump's first presidency, the first lady's signature initiative, Be Best, focused on child well-being, safe social media use and reducing drug abuse.
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Barrow reported from Atlanta. AP Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard and Associated Press writers Linley Sanders and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.
