Trump Creates a Military Spouse Commission Staffed Entirely by the Spouses of Cabinet Officials and Top Brass

Trump signed Executive Order 14415 on Aug. 3, 2026, establishing the President's Military Spouse Commission to advise him on housing, employment, health care, education, child care and deployment-related support for military families. The order sets membership by marriage rather than by appointment: the spouse of the Secretary of War serves as chair, and the panel is composed of the spouses of the service secretaries, the Joint Chiefs chairman, each service chief and senior enlisted adviser, the Coast Guard commandant and the Secretary of Homeland Security. Members serve without pay, may receive travel reimbursement, and hold their seats only for as long as their spouse holds the underlying office.

Federal advisory bodies are normally constituted by selecting members for expertise or constituency. Defining one by whom its members are married to ties a formal federal role to another person's appointment — a condition the order states explicitly. The Federal Advisory Committee Act applies, with the Secretary of War performing the President's functions under it and the Department of War providing funding and staff.

The order took effect on signing. It creates no enforceable rights, directs annual reports to the President, and terminates the commission in two years unless extended.