Photo: KEN CEDENO / AFP / Getty Images
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday (August 3) at the White House to establish the President's Military Spouse Commission. This initiative aims to address challenges faced by military families, focusing on childcare, employment, housing, and healthcare. The commission will provide annual recommendations to improve the quality of life for military families while enhancing military readiness.
The commission will be chaired by Jennifer Hegseth, the wife of War Secretary Pete Hegseth. "Military spouses are the bedrock of our Armed Forces' readiness and resilience," Jennifer Hegseth told Fox News Digital. "We will work tirelessly to dismantle the barriers our families face every single day."
The executive order is designed to give the White House a direct line to the challenges facing military spouses, including the demands of multiple deployments. Trump's initiative reflects his administration's commitment to supporting military families, as demonstrated by previous efforts to improve occupational license portability and increase federal employment opportunities for military spouses.
The commission will include Christie Mullin, wife of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, and 20 other military spouses representing various military branches. "The fight to support our service members is not just abroad, it’s also right here at home," Mullin said to Fox News Digital.
During his first term, Trump expanded support for military families by allowing military spouses to claim the same state of legal residence as their active-duty spouse. The new commission is expected to continue building on these efforts, addressing top concerns such as employment, pay, and children's education.