Harshbarger Joins President Trump and First Lady at White House for Women’s Health Executive Order Signing

October 19, 2026 Press Release Order Creates New Women’s Health Division at NIH and White House Women’s Health Task Force Washington, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) joined President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at the White House as the President signed an executive order titled “Advancing Women’s Health to Improve Outcomes in All Phases of Life.” The order establishes the White House Women’s Health Task Force and a new Women’s Health Division at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). “It is clear that President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and Secretary Kennedy have made women’s health a priority at the highest levels, and today’s executive order is yet another game changer for women and girls across America,” said Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger. “This order opens the door to real progress on the conditions that affect women most. It will help close the research gap, and by using advanced research technologies to speed up discoveries, it will get treatments and cures to women faster. Combined with the administration’s work to make my Pregnancy.gov Act a reality through Moms.gov, help families save on fertility medications through TrumpRx, and send new moms home with the postpartum supplies they need, among many other efforts, this is a serious, results-driven commitment to making care more accessible and affordable for women at every stage of life. I’m grateful for their leadership and look forward to building on this work in Congress.” BACKGROUND: The executive order, led by First Lady Melania Trump, aims to strengthen research, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care for women and girls at every stage of life, from infancy and adolescence through pregnancy, midlife, menopause, and aging. The order directs the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a Women’s Health Division at NIH within 90 days. Working with the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health, the division will expand research into understudied women’s health conditions, increase the inclusion of women and girls in clinical trials, hold grant recipients accountable for factoring in sex as a biological variable, and speed the translation of scientific discoveries into clinical practice. The order also creates the White House Women’s Health Task Force, co-chaired by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. The task force will work to advance women’s health science, translate research into evidence-based clinical care and updated medical education, strengthen the supply of providers and medical products, and work with states, faith-based organizations, and the private sector to put new research into practice. The order identifies conditions that disproportionately or uniquely affect women and need more research, including heart disease, cancer, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, autoimmune conditions, osteoporosis, mental health, chronic pain, endometriosis, fibroids, infertility, maternal health, and menopause. The order builds on First Lady Melania Trump’s five pillars of women’s health innovation, which call for directing research funding toward cures for conditions that affect women uniquely or disproportionately; using Super Intelligence to deepen understanding of female biology and speed up medical discoveries; moving promising treatments from the lab to female patients faster while maintaining strict safety standards; making medical breakthroughs accessible and affordable to women regardless of their financial circumstances; and replacing generations of silence with open conversation, education, and compassion about women’s health. CLICK HERE to read the executive order. CLICK HERE for a fact sheet. ICYMI: Harshbarger Joins Secretary Kennedy, Administrator Oz, and Trump Administration Officials for Launch of Moms.gov ###