Trump signs order establishing 2028 Olympics taskforce

President Donald Trump signed a Tuesday order creating a taskforce to oversee the United States’ hosting of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The order directed a swath of executive agencies to use every tool available to ensure a fantastic turnout in 2028, Trump said. The president appeared with Vice President J.D. Vance and the chairman of the Olympic games organizing committee, Casey Wasserman, along with a variety of athletes and other Olympic leaders.

Los Angeles will be the first U.S. city to host the games in over 20 years, after Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics. With LA slated to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, it really is a great time to be a sports fan in America, Trump said. Wasserman thanked Trump for his strong support for the Olympics before presenting the president with a set of Olympic medals from the last time LA hosted in 1984. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed last month allots $1 billion in funding for Olympic security, planning, and other costs.

What will the games look like? Trump noted that the 2028 games will debut squash as a new sport, and bring back baseball. Soccer teams will face off in the Rose Bowl, with opening ceremonies slated for the Memorial Colosseum, just like the the LA Olympics of 1932 and 1984, he added. About 150 heads of state are expected to attend the games which will be the biggest and greatest yet, Wasserman said. About 11,000 Olympians and 4,500 Paralympians will participate in 800 competitions across 49 venues, he continued. Wasserman also announced the committee’s plan to bring the Olympic torch to all 50 U.S. states, breaking the previous record of 38 states.

Dig deeper: Read Elizabeth Russell’s report on how the U.S. Olympics and Paralympics committees quietly changed their policies on transgender athletes.