LOS ANGELES (KABC) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday to establish a new task force to help oversee the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
The president has said the 2028 Games are among the events he’s looking forward to most in his second term. He will serve as chair of the new task force.
The executive order calls for the task force to coordinate security and planning for the Games and streamline visa processing and credentialing for the athletes, coaches, media and other visitors coming to the U.S.
Such a task force isn’t necessarily unheard of, but is usually led on a local level.
Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law last month, secured $1 billion for security, planning and other costs related to the 2028 Olympic Games.
From baseball at Dodger Stadium to volleyball in Anaheim, LA28 has released its list of venues chosen for the 2028 Olympic Games.
“On the 2028 summer Olympics, mobilizing the entire federal government to ensure the games are safe, seamless and historically successful. It’s going to be amazing. It’s going to be amazing,” Trump said. “America is a nation of champions, and in July 2028, we’ll show the world what America does best, and that’s win. We’re winning like we have never won before.”
Vice President JD Vance will serve as vice chair. Other members include Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
This comes as city leaders continue negotiations with LA28 over the use of police and traffic officers, as well as other employees that may be needed during the Olympics.
At the event, Trump praised Gene Sykes, chair of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee board of directors, for the USOPC’s move to effectively bar transgender women from competing in women’s sports.
“The United States will not let men steal trophies from women at the 2028 Olympics,” Trump said.
He questioned why he didn’t hear applause from the room when he praised Sykes for it, and then received some claps from some people in the room.
Trump “considers it a great honor to oversee this global sporting spectacle,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement, calling sports one of the president’s “greatest passions.”
LA28 president and chair Casey Wasserman said the task force “marks an important step forward in our planning efforts and reflects our shared commitment to delivering not just the biggest, but the greatest Games the world has ever seen in the summer of 2028.”
Along with the 2028 Summer Games, Trump has said that the 2026 FIFA World Cup being hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico is among the events he’s most looking forward to in his second term.
In preparation for next year’s competition, the governments of all three countries on Tuesday said they had held the first meeting of a trilateral coordinating council of government officials, industry leaders and security professionals discussing a variety of issues, including preparedness for any security threats ahead of the World Cup.
It remains unclear if the task force will be met with any pushback from L.A. Mayor Karen Bass or Gov. Gavin Newsom, who both spoke out publicly against the president’s deployment of federal troops to the city in response to protests against immigration enforcement operations.
The 2028 Games will be the first Olympics to be hosted by the U.S. since the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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