President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday establishing a new White House commission dedicated to improving life for America’s military spouses and families.
Surrounded by military spouses in the Oval Office, Trump described the initiative as “long overdue” and said supporting families at home is essential to maintaining a strong and prepared fighting force.
“America cannot have the strongest military in the world without the love and devotion of our remarkable military spouses,” Trump said during the signing ceremony, according to the Department of War.
The executive order creates the President’s Military Spouse Commission, which will advise Trump on challenges involving employment, housing, health care, education, child care and support during military deployments.
The commission will be chaired by Jennifer Hegseth, the wife of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Its membership will include the spouses of the military service secretaries, members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, senior enlisted leaders and the secretary of Homeland Security.
Together, the commission’s members have more than 400 years of experience as active-duty military spouses, Trump said.
Military families routinely move to a new duty station every two or three years, often forcing spouses to leave jobs, transfer professional licenses, find new schools and secure child care in unfamiliar communities. Deployments can also leave spouses managing households and raising children alone for months at a time.
Those disruptions have produced significant economic consequences.
The Pentagon’s 2024 Active Duty Spouse Survey found that the unemployment rate among civilian military spouses was 20%—several times higher than the national rate.
Spouses who had experienced a permanent change-of-station move during the previous year faced 136% higher odds of being unemployed, according to the survey. Having children younger than six increased the odds of unemployment by 68%.
Jennifer Hegseth said the commission’s members will bring decades of personal experience to the effort, including firsthand knowledge of the difficulties families encounter as they move between military installations.
Secretary Hegseth argued that addressing those concerns directly affects military performance.
“If that warfighter knows that their family is good to go, they will go the extra mile, which is what our nation asks,” he said.
Under the order, the commission will communicate directly with military spouses, identify recurring concerns and develop practical policy recommendations for the president. It is expected to meet monthly at the White House and submit a report at the end of each fiscal year.
Members will serve without compensation, although they may receive reimbursement for travel. The Department of War will provide administrative, technical and financial support using existing appropriations.
The commission is scheduled to operate for two years unless Trump extends it.
The initiative builds on policies Trump pursued during his first term to expand federal employment opportunities for military spouses, improve the portability of professional licenses and encourage remote and flexible work.
It also follows approximately $9 billion in military and family quality-of-life funding included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed by Trump in July 2025, according to the Department of War.
The White House said the new commission reflects Trump’s belief that military families are inseparable from military readiness.
“Thriving military families mean a more resilient fighting force and thus a stronger and more secure America,” the executive order states.
