Trump to Launch NIH Women's Health Task Force

US President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order alongside first lady Melania Trump on Monday creating a task force and a National Institutes of Health division focused on NIH women's health, a White House official said. The move marks the administration's most visible health policy initiative on women's care in the second term.

The task force will be led by Trump's White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, who recently announced that she is cancer-free, and US Health Secretary Robert Kennedy, the official said. The president is scheduled to sign the executive order at 11 a.m. at the White House, according to his official schedule, with the women's health task force expected to begin its work immediately after.

What the new NIH women's health division will do

The new Women's Health Division at the NIH will not replace the agency's Office of Research on Women's Health but will carry a broader mandate beyond research, the official said. The creation of a dedicated division signals an attempt to give women's health research a permanent institutional home inside the country's largest medical research agency, rather than leaving it scattered across institutes.

Supporters of the new NIH women's health division say it could steady NIH funding and attention for studies on conditions that disproportionately affect women. The executive order comes as the administration has faced criticism over earlier health care cuts, including cuts to NIH grants for diversity-related research and a drive to downsize the federal health workforce.

Task force leadership and timing

Wiles, as White House chief of staff, brings political weight to the effort, while Kennedy as health secretary brings oversight of the department that houses the NIH. Susie Wiles recently announced she is cancer-free, a development the White House has presented as a personal motivation for the initiative. The pairing of the two leaders suggests the task force will span both policy and research.

Representatives for the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the NIH, could not be immediately reached for comment on the order, which was first reported by USA Today.

NIH women's health and AI research

In planned remarks at the event, Melania Trump is expected to address the need for using artificial intelligence to speed up women's health discoveries, as well as access and affordability of care, the official said. The emphasis on AI reflects a broader government push to apply machine learning to drug discovery, diagnostics and clinical research.

Research advocates say NIH women's health funding has long lagged behind the scale of conditions affecting women, from endometriosis and maternal health complications to autoimmune diseases. A division with a broader mandate could expand women's health research into prevention, care delivery and outcomes, not just laboratory science.

Political context of the move

The announcement arrives after the administration pushed health care cuts and last year moved to downsize the federal health care workforce. Since the second term began in January 2025, the administration has sought to cut NIH grants for research on diversity-related topics and reportedly moved to allow political appointees to control health-research funding. Critics will watch whether the new structure increases NIH funding or merely reorganises it. Advocates say NIH women's health funding must genuinely grow for the division to matter.

Hospital groups have cautiously welcomed attention to the issue. The American Hospital Association has previously called for more investment in maternal and women's health services, which remain uneven across states.

What NIH women's health experts want next

Researchers said the real test of the NIH women's health division will be staffing, funding and independence. A division that can set its own research priorities would be stronger than one folded into existing institutes, they argued. They also urged that the women's health task force include patient advocates and clinicians, not just officials. Susie Wiles and Kennedy are expected to name its members in the coming weeks.

For now, attention turns to Monday's signing ceremony, where Melania Trump will stand beside the president as he presents the full text of the NIH women's health plan. Whether the new structure delivers lasting change for patients will depend on the resources that follow the announcement.