WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday directed the federal government to bolster federal research into women's health through all stages of their lives, a move pushed by his wife, first lady Melania Trump.
The Republican president signed an executive order creating a Women’s Health Division at the National Institutes of Health and a separate White House Women's Health Task Force. The panel was set to hold its first meeting on Monday.
Click to Gallery
First lady Melania Trump speaks during an event about women's health, in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump, with first lady Melania Trump, attends an event about women's health, in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
President Donald Trump, with first lady Melania Trump, holds a signed executive order, during an event about women's health, in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
President Donald Trump, seated right with first lady Melania Trump, signs an executive order during an event about women's health, in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump holds up a signed executive order alongside first lady Melania Trump at an event about women's health, in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
“Beginning today we will change the reality of women’s health,” Melania Trump said. “Previous generations fought for women’s rights. Our generation will fight to discover the cures that will ensure a woman can live her life in health and to the fullest.”
The president spoke after his wife and said the order will “promote new research and really go after the understudied diseases affecting women.” The order is also intended to promote diagnostic technology and improve treatment.
White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, who recently completed treatment for breast cancer, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will lead the White House task force. Donald Trump said the panel will coordinate with various federal agencies and programs. The order does not include specific funding goals.
The initiative follows meetings the first lady had with the president, Kennedy and other federal health officials to help shape the order and the task force.
The president called it a "historic action” and praised her work.
“She’s accomplished so much,” he said before pivoting into unscripted commentary about White House renovations, including the patio stone now covering what used to be the Rose Garden lawn.
Shifting back to women's health, the president expressed surprise that some of the order's requirements had not already been imposed.
“Who the hell wouldn't have a women's health division?” he said, after recalling that he'd asked Melania Trump, “Are you sure they don't have that?”
The NIH has an Office of Research on Women’s Health, established in 1990 to advance understanding of the biological and social factors that influence women's health and disease, according to its website.
A goal of the new Women's Health Division is to improve the government's ability to coordinate research, according to a fact sheet distributed by the White House.
The executive order signed Monday calls for more research into key areas of women's health, including maternal health, mental health, endometriosis, infertility, fibroids and menopause. It also mentions other health concerns, including Alzheimer’s and heart disease, osteoporosis and stroke.
The White House announcement comes about two weeks before Nov. 3 elections and as Donald Trump’s job approval ratings have declined.
About one-third of women now approve of how Trump is handling the presidency, according to recent AP-NORC polling. About two-thirds of women disapproved of how Trump was handing healthcare issues in a July AP-NORC poll.
An AP-NORC poll conducted earlier in October found women more likely than men to say healthcare is “one of the most important issues” in the upcoming election.
It was unclear whether Trump's order conflicts with his earlier executive actions curtailing federal programs and policies with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion.
The administration’s broad cuts to scientific research have included studies focusing on women as it continues to eliminate grants with a “DEI” or diversity focus. Last year, the administration announced that the long-running Women’s Health Initiative, a study of preventive health strategies, would be closed early before abruptly reversing that decision amid protest.
In 2023, the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden signed an executive order as he announced a White House initiative to improve how the federal government approaches and funds research into the health of women, who make up more than half the U.S. population. The initiative was led by first lady Jill Biden.
Before leaving the White House, the Bidens highlighted Jill Biden’s effort and said the research initiative had attracted nearly $1 billion in federal funding, including from the Defense Department and NIH.
Trump's executive order rescinded the Biden effort.
The Trump White House said the steps announced Monday go beyond what was accomplished under Biden, citing the planned use of artificial intelligence, which Trump calls “super intelligence,” and creating a government-wide task force rather than having the first lady lead the initiative.
The initiative adds a new dimension to Melania Trump’s policy portfolio as first lady.
In Donald Trump's second term, Melania Trump has focused on improving foster care systems, expanding technology and artificial-intelligence access in education, and reuniting children separated from their families by Russia's war against Ukraine.
In Trump's first presidency, the first lady's signature initiative, Be Best, focused on child well-being, safe social media use and reducing drug abuse.
Barrow reported from Atlanta. AP Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard and Associated Press writers Linley Sanders and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.
First lady Melania Trump speaks during an event about women's health, in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump, with first lady Melania Trump, attends an event about women's health, in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
President Donald Trump, with first lady Melania Trump, holds a signed executive order, during an event about women's health, in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
President Donald Trump, seated right with first lady Melania Trump, signs an executive order during an event about women's health, in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump holds up a signed executive order alongside first lady Melania Trump at an event about women's health, in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched new attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure using ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday, adding that Kyiv again received no early warning of the attack from partner countries that previously shared their intelligence.
Zelenskyy is grappling with recent Washington moves benefiting Russian President Vladimir Putin, including waiving U.S. sanctions on Moscow and signing a deal to import diesel from Moscow.
Moscow and Kyiv, meanwhile, were discussing the possible evacuation of the Russian-occupied front-line city of Oleshky in the southern Kherson region, where about 2,000 people have been cut off from food and medical supplies for months, according to a Ukrainian human rights official.
Zelenskyy said speed restrictions are still in place on Kyiv’s use of the military-grade version of U.S. company SpaceX’s satellite internet service.
Full service was being restored at the end of last week, but Zelenskyy said Monday that the restrictions are still slowing Ukraine's drones along the front.
Also, a severe shortage of American-made Patriot air defense systems has made Ukraine more vulnerable. Delays are still occurring with some “vital supplies” from the U.S., Zelenskyy said without elaborating, and senior Kyiv officials are urgently contacting other countries to strengthen air defenses.
Western intelligence sharing has helped Ukraine counter Russia’s devastating ballistic missiles and hold back Moscow’s full-scale invasion, which began more than 4½ years ago.
U.S. President Donald Trump says Washington hasn’t stopped providing intelligence to Kyiv. Secretary of State Marco Rubio repeated that position Monday, saying he had no information about the previous night’s Russian attack.
The Russian nighttime barrage hit 28 substations and other critical energy facilities, depriving more than a half-million people of electricity, heat and running water, Zelenskyy said on social media.
Russia fired 16 ballistic missiles at Kyiv and its surrounding region, Zelenskyy said, with officials in the capital reporting a 21-year-old woman was killed.
Ukraine received no warning from its partners ahead of the first wave of attacks, and information about a second wave arrived too late for air raid sirens to be activated in time, air force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said on national television.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that it struck Ukrainian targets including a data center, a logistics hub storing components for drones and cruise missiles, an industrial facility making drone components, and a locomotive depot where missiles are stored.
It also said it struck a bulk carrier in the Black Sea heading for Odesa with supplies for Ukraine’s armed forces.
Trump accuses Zelenskyy of not wanting the war with Russia to end. Washington's efforts to bring peace, meanwhile, have failed, including a recent truce covering energy infrastructure that Trump had demanded.
Help from Western allies has been vital for Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s bigger military, but fears have mounted that Trump may be turning his back on Ukraine.
Western analysts and officials say Putin believes that he can wait for foreign support for Ukraine to unravel and that Russia’s bigger military will then crush Ukraine’s resistance.
“Ukraine never wanted this war, and we have welcomed literally EVERY attempt by our partners to bring this war to a dignified end. We have responded positively to EVERY ceasefire proposal,” Zelenskyy said Monday on social media. “The reality is that the war continues, and it continues solely because of Russian strikes and Russia’s desire to drag this war out.”
Ukraine has held back Moscow's forces on the front line and has hit back with long-range strikes on oil refineries deep inside Russia that triggered fuel shortages.
On Sunday, Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia in one of its largest aerial attacks of the war, setting fire to an oil export terminal and a depot in St. Petersburg.
Russia has sought to disrupt daily life in Ukraine by attacking trains, shopping malls, gas stations and supermarkets, among other sites.
Kyiv resident Serhii Brezhniuk, owner of a shopping mall store damaged Monday, said he had grown used to the relentless bombardment.
“It’s what we see every single day,” he told The Associated Press. “We’ve grown accustomed to it.”
Alla Suska, 66, said she noticed many people walking around with bags under their eyes from a lack of sleep.
“Since there are attacks every night and air raid alerts all day long, naturally, we don’t get any proper rest,” she said.
Maksym Maksymovych, 44, said he felt the tension mounting amid Russia's escalation. His son's school was damaged in the attack, he said.
“You sort of get used to all these events — after all, we’ve been living in Kyiv since the war began — but you can see the explosions drawing closer and closer,” he said.
Russia and Ukraine are engaged in talks on ending the plight of people trapped in Oleshky, Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said in an interview with Espreso.
Oleshky has gotten global attention in recent weeks as the desperate plight of its trapped civilians came to light. There is no electricity, heat or running water in the city, which was seized by Russia on the first day of the 2022 invasion, and escaping it is fraught with risk from mined roads and drone attacks. It sits across the Dnipro River from Kherson, which is held by Ukrainian troops.
Both sides blame each other for bringing the city to the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. Russia says Ukraine deliberately blocks supplies and evacuations; Kyiv counters that Moscow is effectively holding civilians hostage.
Pope Leo XIV spoke by phone Friday with Putin and urged a ceasefire to allow aid into Oleshky and to safely evacuate civilians. The Kremlin said Putin voiced support for Vatican efforts to help protect the population and secure vital supplies, and voiced readiness to cooperate. Leo spoke Monday to Zelenskyy and urged cooperation with Russia on Oleshky, the Vatican said.
U.S. and Russian officials said Monday that talks are continuing on the possibility of a trilateral meeting involving Putin, Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at an APEC summit in China next month to try to negotiate a deal on Ukraine, without Kyiv’s participation. The possibility was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Rubio said he was aware of the possibility. “I mean, I think there’s been talks of a meeting. I don’t know if anything’s been finalized,” he told reporters.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that while the prospect of such a meeting has been mentioned, “no substantive proposals or agreements neither regarding the meeting itself nor its potential agenda and content have been discussed or put forward by anyone.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha dismissed the idea of peace talks without Kyiv, saying it would embolden Putin.
“Inviting Putin to such a meeting would feed his appetite for self-aggrandizement and give him a stature he does not deserve," Sybiha said on X.
Lithuania raised alert levels at more than 15 strategic infrastructure sites after an arson attempt Sunday at a Starlink base station in Vilnius, Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said Monday.
European officials and law enforcement have warned repeatedly that Russia is waging a hybrid war against Europe, including sabotage, arson and vandalism, as well as influence operations.
Hatton reported from Lisbon, Portugal. AP reporter Vasilisa Stepanenko in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
A policeman helps an elderly woman to walk out from a residential building damaged by a Russian airstrike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)
People carry their belongings as they leave their office following a Russian air attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
A Ukrainian serviceman inspects a missile crater after a Russian air attack in central Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Employees examine the damage at a candy shop after a Russian missile strike in central Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
People carry their belongings as they leave their office following Russian air attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
People look at damaged office center after a Russian missile attack in central Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
A veteran pays his respects at a makeshift memorial to Ukrainian soldiers killed in the war with Russia, on Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
