President Donald Trump created a White House commission Monday to give military spouses a formal role in advising his administration on housing, employment, health care, education, child care and deployment-related support.
Executive Order 14415 established the President’s Military Spouse Commission and requires it to submit a report at the end of each fiscal year. The panel will expire August 3, 2028, unless the President extends it. The order does not create benefits that military families can enforce in court.
“America cannot have the strongest military in the world without the love and devotion of our remarkable military spouses, who make the extraordinary sacrifices for our country,” Trump said during an Oval Office ceremony.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Trump proclaimed May 8 Military Spouse Day and called for further advances in jobs, housing, child care, health care and education.
Military spouses take the lead
Jennifer Hegseth, wife of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, will chair the commission. Trump named White House aide Desiree Thompson Sayle as executive director.
“These are generational issues that are long overdue to address,” Jennifer Hegseth said. She said commissioners bring decades of firsthand experience with frequent moves, employment barriers and other pressures of military life.
Members will include the spouses of the Army, Navy and Air Force secretaries; the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; military service chiefs; the National Guard Bureau chief; and senior enlisted leaders. The spouse of the Secretary of Homeland Security will also serve. The chair or executive director may invite other participants.
Members will serve only while their spouses hold the qualifying positions. They will receive no compensation, although federal law allows reimbursement for travel expenses.
Commission to meet monthly
The commission will meet monthly at the White House, according to the Department of War. It must consult military spouses, identify common concerns, develop policy proposals and recommend practical actions to the President. It may also establish subcommittees.
The Department of War will provide funding and administrative and technical support, subject to existing appropriations and federal law. Separately, the department said the One Big Beautiful Bill Act allocated about $9 billion for service-member and military-family quality-of-life programs. Trump called the new commission decades overdue.
Provided by Dallas Express
