Donald Trump’s claim that the US government spent $8 million on making mice transgender was initially dismissed as misinformation. However, a closer look at federal funding records reveals that taxpayer money has indeed been used for studies involving gender-affirming hormone treatments in rodents.
The White Coat Waste Project, a watchdog group focused on exposing government spending on animal experiments, has documented over $250 million in funding for transgender-related animal studies over the last two decades, reported the Telegraph. The group claims at least two dozen active federal grants are currently financing such research, amounting to $64 million.
Among the studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are:
- Duke University ($455,000): A project studying how HIV vaccines work in male mice given female hormones to model gender transition.
- University of Michigan ($2.5 million): Research into how hormone therapy affects mice, including physiological and behavioral changes.
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center ($300,000): A study examining breast cancer risks in transgender individuals by analyzing tumors in hormone-treated mice.
- Emory University ($735,000): Research into the impact of gut microbiome changes during gender-affirming hormone therapy.
- University of California ($1.2 million): A project testing the effects of male sex hormones on female mice.
- Indiana University ($3.1 million): A study on how feminizing hormone therapy affects lung function in rodents.
Musk calls it ‘demented’ research
Elon Musk recently criticized such experiments in an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, calling them a “horror show” and accusing researchers of “mutilating animals.” He argued that taxpayer money was being wasted on unnecessary and unethical experiments.
White House and CNN’s reversal
Trump’s remarks were met with skepticism from the media, with CNN initially fact-checking the claim as false. However, after the White House called the network “fake news losers”, CNN quietly corrected its report, admitting that Trump’s statement was based on real NIH-funded studies.
Scientists defend the research
Some scientists argue that these studies are not solely about modeling transgender hormone replacement but serve broader medical purposes. Research on sex hormones in mice has helped develop treatments for osteoporosis, breast cancer, and other conditions.
A researcher at Emory University explained
“We study the effects of hormone treatment used by transgender people on skeletal development. The goal is to understand whether these treatments impair bone growth and increase the risk of osteoporosis later in life.”
Despite the debate, Trump’s claim about government spending on transgender mice experiments was not baseless. The issue now fuels broader discussions on federal funding priorities and the ethics of taxpayer-funded animal testing.
