First Lady Melania Trump will preside over the United Nations Security Council on March 2, becoming the first sitting U.S. First Lady to take the gavel in the Council’s history. The groundbreaking moment arrives as the United States assumes the rotating presidency of the 15-member body for March.
The first lady will lead discussions centered on children, technology, education, peace and security during a session titled “Children, Technology, and Education in Conflict.” The meeting is scheduled for 3:00 PM at UN headquarters in New York City. Her office announced she plans to emphasize education’s critical role in advancing tolerance and achieving lasting world peace.
A source close to the first lady told Fox News that Mrs. Trump is “reinventing her role” with this appearance, which marks “just another groundbreaking achievement for her.” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz praised the historic appearance and will be in attendance alongside other council members and international stakeholders.
The UN Security Council presidency rotates monthly among its members. The Council consists of five permanent members—the United States, China, France, the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom—plus 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms. Current non-permanent members include Bahrain, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Greece, Latvia, Liberia, Pakistan, Panama and Somalia.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, confirmed the unprecedented nature of the event. While spouses of heads of state have previously participated on behalf of non-members of the Council, no first lady or first gentleman has ever presided over a Security Council meeting.
The appearance fits conveniently into the first lady’s schedule. She spends much of her time at Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan rather than residing at the White House during this second term, making the commute to UN headquarters particularly manageable.
Melania Trump has maintained an active focus on children’s welfare and education since President Trump took office in January 2025. Her Be Best initiative, launched during the first Trump administration, continues to drive her advocacy work. In 2025, she garnered bipartisan support on Capitol Hill for the Take It Down Act, which President Trump signed into law on May 19. The legislation criminalizes the publication of nonconsensual intimate imagery, including deepfakes, and requires online platforms to remove such content within 48 hours of receiving notice from victims.
The first lady also launched the Presidential Artificial Intelligence Challenge, a nationwide initiative inviting students and educators to showcase American innovation by registering at AI.gov. Recently, she released an audiobook of her memoir using AI audio technology in multiple languages.
Beyond her technology and education initiatives, Melania Trump has pursued humanitarian work, including efforts to reunite children separated by the war in Ukraine with their families. She revealed in October that she has maintained an open channel of communication with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and her representative has worked directly with Putin’s team to facilitate child reunifications. Her Fostering the Future program aims to secure educational opportunities for children in foster care, and President Trump recently signed an executive order supporting the initiative.
The historic UN appearance comes as the first lady has maintained a high profile in recent weeks, partly due to promoting her documentary “Melania,” for which Amazon paid $40 million. The first lady reportedly received more than $28 million of that amount. President Trump referenced her documentary during his State of the Union address on Tuesday, calling her a “movie star” and praising her work championing AI legislation and foster care initiatives.
The first lady recently achieved another historic milestone by donating her 2025 inaugural gown to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. The strapless off-white silk crepe gown, designed by Hervé Pierre with bold black silk bands forming a distinctive “Z” shape on the bodice, made her the first first lady to have two inaugural ball gowns in the Smithsonian’s First Ladies Collection since its founding in 1912. Ida McKinley is the only other first lady with two inaugural gowns in the collection.
The Monday session at the UN marks another chapter in what sources describe as a reimagined approach to the role of first lady. From museum cases in Washington to the Security Council chamber in New York, Melania Trump continues to forge new territory in her second tenure as first lady.