Donald Trump Restores Public School Program Axed by Obama Administration
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
President Donald Trump on Thursday will move to reinstate the Presidential Fitness Test, a decades-old program designed to encourage healthy, active lifestyles among American schoolchildren.
First launched in 1966, the test once required students to run and complete exercises such as situps, pullups or pushups, along with a sit-and-reach flexibility assessment. It was overhauled in 2012 under the Obama administration to emphasize personal health goals rather than athletic performance.
Trump "wants to ensure America's future generations are strong, healthy, and successful," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement, adding that the goal is to foster "a culture of strength and excellence for years to come." In a White House ceremony Thursday afternoon, Trump is expected to sign an order reestablishing both the President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition and the fitness test itself. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will oversee the program, which will also introduce a new Presidential Fitness Award.
This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
This article includes reporting by the Associated Press.
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