US President Donald Trump holds the executive order he and First Lady Melania Trump signed in the Rose Garden of the White House on October 19, 2026, in Washington, DC.
'Blatant Hypocrisy': Trump Signs Executive Order on Women’s Health—While Attacking Women's Health
"This is an attempt to change the headlines, not women’s lives.”
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to promote women's health. But advocates say it's an example of "blatant hypocrisy" after his administration slashed healthcare access and medical research funding.
The initiative, promoted by First Lady Melania Trump, establishes a new Women's Health Division within the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and a White House task force to advance research into conditions disproportionately affecting women, like heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, and endometriosis.
During a speech on Monday, Trump said the task force "will mobilize the entire federal government to coordinate action focused on improving women's health." He added that it would be led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom he said "has been fantastic" even though he’s "a little different."
Critics were quick to point out that the order doesn’t provide any new research funding and that the Trump administration has canceled nearly half a billion dollars in NIH research funding, some of which supported research into the very diseases the order mentions.
Following years of growth in women's health research, a Washington Post analysis found that under Kennedy, the number of competitively funded NIH research projects mentioning women fell by 31% in 2025, amid the administration's crusade against so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
In April, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine)—who faces a tough reelection campaign—criticized these cuts, saying that "the administration's emphasis on canceling diversity-related grants has resulted in less research aimed at women's health."
The new order also revokes two Biden-era directives on women's health research, which had helped secure nearly $1 billion in funding. Trump's order provides no additional research funding. It also does not specify what will happen to the existing funds.
"Women’s health has long been ignored as a federal priority, and while we agree that steps must be taken to close disparities in women’s healthcare, it’s hard not to point out the blatant hypocrisy of this unfunded order coming from an administration that is actively decimating healthcare access for women," said Dorianne Mason, senior director of health equity and contraceptive access at the National Women's Law Center (NWLC).
"From the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s cuts to Medicaid and the defunding of Planned Parenthood, to gutting the federal Office of Minority Health and slashing funding for women’s health research, this administration has made it clear that it doesn’t actually care about women’s healthcare needs, despite what this weak executive order attempts to convey," she added.
Last year, Trump signed a GOP budget law that cut hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid—a program that finances maternity care, reproductive healthcare, as well as routine health services for around 39 million low-income women.
Under Kennedy, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has rescinded federal guidance protecting emergency abortion access and launched a medical review that could restrict access to abortion pills.
“With RFK Jr. at the HHS helm, millions of women are paying more for healthcare and have less access to services they need,” said Brad Woodhouse, president of Protect Our Care. “Secretary Kennedy has tried to scrap any research grant or program that dares to fix women’s health disparities—and disproportionately fired women doctors and career scientists en masse. He’s fought tooth and nail to restrict access to abortion medication even when the lives and health of women depend on it, including patients dealing with a horrific ectopic pregnancy."
Polls show that Trump and Republicans are performing dismally among women. According to a Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll released Sunday, just 30% of women said they approved of Trump’s job performance, and 61% wanted Democrats to control Congress.
Noting that the midterm elections were just weeks away, Mason said Trump's announcement of a women's health initiative "is an attempt to change the headlines, not women’s lives.”
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President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to promote women's health. But advocates say it's an example of "blatant hypocrisy" after his administration slashed healthcare access and medical research funding.
The initiative, promoted by First Lady Melania Trump, establishes a new Women's Health Division within the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and a White House task force to advance research into conditions disproportionately affecting women, like heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, and endometriosis.
During a speech on Monday, Trump said the task force "will mobilize the entire federal government to coordinate action focused on improving women's health." He added that it would be led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom he said "has been fantastic" even though he’s "a little different."
Critics were quick to point out that the order doesn’t provide any new research funding and that the Trump administration has canceled nearly half a billion dollars in NIH research funding, some of which supported research into the very diseases the order mentions.
Following years of growth in women's health research, a Washington Post analysis found that under Kennedy, the number of competitively funded NIH research projects mentioning women fell by 31% in 2025, amid the administration's crusade against so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
In April, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine)—who faces a tough reelection campaign—criticized these cuts, saying that "the administration's emphasis on canceling diversity-related grants has resulted in less research aimed at women's health."
The new order also revokes two Biden-era directives on women's health research, which had helped secure nearly $1 billion in funding. Trump's order provides no additional research funding. It also does not specify what will happen to the existing funds.
"Women’s health has long been ignored as a federal priority, and while we agree that steps must be taken to close disparities in women’s healthcare, it’s hard not to point out the blatant hypocrisy of this unfunded order coming from an administration that is actively decimating healthcare access for women," said Dorianne Mason, senior director of health equity and contraceptive access at the National Women's Law Center (NWLC).
"From the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s cuts to Medicaid and the defunding of Planned Parenthood, to gutting the federal Office of Minority Health and slashing funding for women’s health research, this administration has made it clear that it doesn’t actually care about women’s healthcare needs, despite what this weak executive order attempts to convey," she added.
Last year, Trump signed a GOP budget law that cut hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid—a program that finances maternity care, reproductive healthcare, as well as routine health services for around 39 million low-income women.
Under Kennedy, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has rescinded federal guidance protecting emergency abortion access and launched a medical review that could restrict access to abortion pills.
“With RFK Jr. at the HHS helm, millions of women are paying more for healthcare and have less access to services they need,” said Brad Woodhouse, president of Protect Our Care. “Secretary Kennedy has tried to scrap any research grant or program that dares to fix women’s health disparities—and disproportionately fired women doctors and career scientists en masse. He’s fought tooth and nail to restrict access to abortion medication even when the lives and health of women depend on it, including patients dealing with a horrific ectopic pregnancy."
Polls show that Trump and Republicans are performing dismally among women. According to a Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll released Sunday, just 30% of women said they approved of Trump’s job performance, and 61% wanted Democrats to control Congress.
Noting that the midterm elections were just weeks away, Mason said Trump's announcement of a women's health initiative "is an attempt to change the headlines, not women’s lives.”
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to promote women's health. But advocates say it's an example of "blatant hypocrisy" after his administration slashed healthcare access and medical research funding.
The initiative, promoted by First Lady Melania Trump, establishes a new Women's Health Division within the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and a White House task force to advance research into conditions disproportionately affecting women, like heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, and endometriosis.
During a speech on Monday, Trump said the task force "will mobilize the entire federal government to coordinate action focused on improving women's health." He added that it would be led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom he said "has been fantastic" even though he’s "a little different."
Critics were quick to point out that the order doesn’t provide any new research funding and that the Trump administration has canceled nearly half a billion dollars in NIH research funding, some of which supported research into the very diseases the order mentions.
Following years of growth in women's health research, a Washington Post analysis found that under Kennedy, the number of competitively funded NIH research projects mentioning women fell by 31% in 2025, amid the administration's crusade against so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
In April, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine)—who faces a tough reelection campaign—criticized these cuts, saying that "the administration's emphasis on canceling diversity-related grants has resulted in less research aimed at women's health."
The new order also revokes two Biden-era directives on women's health research, which had helped secure nearly $1 billion in funding. Trump's order provides no additional research funding. It also does not specify what will happen to the existing funds.
"Women’s health has long been ignored as a federal priority, and while we agree that steps must be taken to close disparities in women’s healthcare, it’s hard not to point out the blatant hypocrisy of this unfunded order coming from an administration that is actively decimating healthcare access for women," said Dorianne Mason, senior director of health equity and contraceptive access at the National Women's Law Center (NWLC).
"From the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s cuts to Medicaid and the defunding of Planned Parenthood, to gutting the federal Office of Minority Health and slashing funding for women’s health research, this administration has made it clear that it doesn’t actually care about women’s healthcare needs, despite what this weak executive order attempts to convey," she added.
Last year, Trump signed a GOP budget law that cut hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid—a program that finances maternity care, reproductive healthcare, as well as routine health services for around 39 million low-income women.
Under Kennedy, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has rescinded federal guidance protecting emergency abortion access and launched a medical review that could restrict access to abortion pills.
“With RFK Jr. at the HHS helm, millions of women are paying more for healthcare and have less access to services they need,” said Brad Woodhouse, president of Protect Our Care. “Secretary Kennedy has tried to scrap any research grant or program that dares to fix women’s health disparities—and disproportionately fired women doctors and career scientists en masse. He’s fought tooth and nail to restrict access to abortion medication even when the lives and health of women depend on it, including patients dealing with a horrific ectopic pregnancy."
Polls show that Trump and Republicans are performing dismally among women. According to a Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll released Sunday, just 30% of women said they approved of Trump’s job performance, and 61% wanted Democrats to control Congress.
Noting that the midterm elections were just weeks away, Mason said Trump's announcement of a women's health initiative "is an attempt to change the headlines, not women’s lives.”