On Thursday, President Donald Trump will gather with professional athletes to sign an executive order aimed at enhancing his council on sports, fitness, and nutrition. This initiative includes bringing back the Presidential Fitness Test in public schools, according to information shared by White House officials with CNN.
Among the athletes attending the event are renowned golfer Bryson DeChambeau, Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, and former New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor. This gathering comes as the U.S. prepares to host significant sporting events in the coming years, including the 2025 Ryder Cup, the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and the 2028 Summer Olympics—all significant milestones that Trump frequently highlights as part of his agenda for a second term.
The president has invested considerable effort in ensuring the success of these events while also addressing cultural matters related to sports, including policies influencing transgender athletes and pressuring the Washington Commanders to revert to the “Redskins” name, threatening repercussions regarding a major stadium deal.
The new executive order will formally reinstate the Presidential Fitness Test, originally launched by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966. It aims to create school-based programs recognizing “excellence in physical education” and establishing criteria for a Presidential Fitness Award. This information has been compiled from details obtained by CNN.
The test will be overseen by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., reviving a fitness challenge that existed in public schools from 1966 to 2012, where high-achieving students received presidential accolades. The program was discontinued by former President Barack Obama, who favored an assessment called the FitnessGram that concentrated on improving individual health.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated, “Tomorrow afternoon President Trump will sign an Executive Order revitalizing the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition and revitalize the Presidential Fitness Test.”
The order is designed to confront what the White House describes as “the widespread epidemic of declining health and physical fitness.” It emphasizes forming partnerships between the presidential council, professional athletes, sports organizations, and other influential figures.
Many prominent figures associated with Trump will be present in the Roosevelt Room at the White House and will formally join the council. DeChambeau, a favored athlete of Trump who is currently part of the LIV Golf League and recently played golf on the White House South Lawn, will be appointed as the council’s chairman.
Butker, who met the president in the Oval Office earlier this year, drew criticism in the past year for suggesting in a controversial commencement speech that a woman’s achievements at home outweigh academic or professional successes and labeling Pride Month a “deadly sin.” He later defended his comments, emphasizing his Catholic beliefs.
Taylor, a sports icon from New York City during Trump’s peak years in the 1980s and 1990s, has also been vocal at the president’s campaign rallies. Additional attendees expected at the event include Cody Campbell, a former college football player and head of Texas Tech’s Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) collective; Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE’s Chief Content Officer and 14-time World Champion; Annika Sorenstam, a legendary Swedish golfer; and Stephen Soloway, a New Jersey physician who served on Trump’s sports council during his first term.
