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Health & Science · October 19, 2026

Trump order sets up new women’s health research initiative at NIH, White House task force

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President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday, October 19, 2026, establishing a new Women’s Health Division within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and a White House Women’s Health Task Force. First Lady Melania Trump was credited with leading the initiative, which aims to expand research and clinical care for conditions disproportionately affecting women throughout all stages of life. The task force will be co-chaired by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. The order also revokes previous women's health initiatives enacted by the Biden administration in 2023 and 2024. While proponents argue the move addresses historical underfunding of women's medical research, critics have noted the absence of reproductive rights in the order and pointed to broader administration policies that impact healthcare access.

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Reported by multiple outlets

  • President Trump signed an executive order creating a Women’s Health Division at the NIH.
  • A new White House Women’s Health Task Force was established, co-chaired by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Susie Wiles.
  • First Lady Melania Trump played a leading role in formulating the order.
  • The order revokes a 2024 Biden executive order and a 2023 memorandum on women's health research.
  • The initiative aims to address diseases that disproportionately affect women and are historically understudied.

Reported by only some outlets

  • The initiative was announced two weeks before midterm elections.
  • The task force includes secretaries of Agriculture, Education, Labor, Veterans Affairs, and War.
  • The order includes the 'First Lady’s Five Pillars of Women’s Health Innovation' involving AI and therapeutic acceleration.
  • The order does not mention research into contraception or reproductive rights.
  • A 2025 tax and spending law includes roughly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts over 10 years.
  • The FDA is currently conducting a safety review of abortion medication.

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