Washington DC - President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday forming a new military-linked commission that will be headed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's wife.
In an executive order on Monday, Trump created a new Military Spouse Commission, which will work on improving the quality of life for military spouses.
Specifically, the commission will work on resolving issues experienced by the families of serving service members in the realms of housing, employment, childcare, education, and more.
"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 in the Oval Office.
"Many military spouses spend months separated from their loved ones, while our heroes are deployed overseas," he continued, flanked by Hegseth and numerous military spouses who will serve on the commission.
The women – who include Christie Mullin, the wife of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin – represent each branch of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Among them was Jennifer Hegseth, the DOD chief's wife and a former military spouse herself, who will chair the new commission. In that role, she will advise the presidency on issues faced by military spouses.
"These are generational issues that are long overdue to address," Jenny Hegseth said on Monday. "We have the most amazing women here who have decades of experience as military spouses themselves to take a look at it."
"There's really nothing we're going to find that they haven't experienced, and so between what they've experienced and what they know, we're going to really tackle these things."
Pete Hegseth threw his support behind his wife, writing on X that he is "so proud" and thanking her for "stepping up for our great military families."