Trump to sign memo bringing back Presidential Fitness Test Award for students

WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump is slated to sign a memorandum on May 5 that brings back the Presidential Fitness Test Award, according to a White House official, part of a broader effort by the administration to revamp US public health policies.

The White House official shared the details ahead of the announcement on condition of anonymity. Fox News Digital earlier on May 5 reported on the memorandum, saying it would reintroduce benchmarks for student fitness. 

Mr Trump in July 2025 signed an executive order re-establishing a presidential fitness test in public schools. That order sought to revive a test that was first introduced decades ago but was phased out by former president Barack Obama, who substituted the performance-based standards with assessments that focused more on health than personal athletic achievement.

Mr Trump campaigned on a controversial “Make America Healthy Again” agenda. His health secretary, Mr Robert F. Kennedy Jr, has been spearheading those efforts, seeking to implement many of his own personal nutritional and health principles across the nation at large, including scepticism over vaccines and encouraging people to eat more saturated fats. 

The administration has rolled out new nutrition guidelines that encourage the public to eat more animal-based protein and less sugar and Mr Trump signed a Bill earlier in 2026 that allows schools to serve whole milk. Bloomberg