Trump orders new NIH division to expand women's health research

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday establishing a women's health division at the National Institutes of Health and a White House task force, according to ABC7 Los Angeles. First lady Melania Trump helped shape the initiative to expand research into diseases affecting women.

The initiative aims to advance diagnostic technology and treatment while addressing diseases that have received insufficient research attention. The order sets no specific funding goals, according to ABC7 Los Angeles.

Trump signed the order during a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden, ABC7 Los Angeles reported. The task force was scheduled to meet for the first time Monday after the signing.

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will lead the task force. Its work will include coordinating women's health efforts among federal agencies and programs, according to the report.

The order identifies maternal health, mental health and endometriosis as priorities. It also addresses Alzheimer's disease, osteoporosis, heart disease and stroke, ABC7 Los Angeles reported.

Melania Trump consulted doctors, White House officials, Kennedy and the president while developing the initiative, according to the report. ABC7 Los Angeles also reported that Wiles recently finished breast cancer treatment.

The signing came weeks before the Nov. 3 elections, as Trump's approval ratings declined, including among women. ABC7 Los Angeles cited AP-NORC polls showing support among independent women falling from about four in 10 during the 2024 election and pre-presidency period to around a quarter in the opening months of the 2026 midterm election year.

The order establishes a new structure for federal women's health research, but ABC7 Los Angeles reported no specific funding goals to accompany it.