GOP Lawmakers Demand Defunding of NIH's Transgender Animal Testing

Republicans push to block federal funding for experiments on transgender mice, rats, and monkeys in 2027 spending bill

Apr. 3, 2026 at 12:40pm

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A fractured, abstract painting of a mouse in overlapping geometric shapes and muted colors, conveying the disturbing nature of transgender experiments on animals.The GOP's push to defund the NIH's controversial transgender animal experiments reflects the ongoing political battle over the government's role in funding such research.San Diego Today

A group of Republican lawmakers, led by Rep. Paul Gosar, are pushing to block federal funding for transgender experiments on animals in the fiscal year 2027 spending bill. The lawmakers are citing recent investigations that found the National Institutes of Health (NIH), under the direction of Dr. Anthony Fauci, issued millions in grants for experiments to create transgender mice, rats, and monkeys during the Biden administration.

Why it matters

The push to defund these transgender animal experiments reflects growing conservative opposition to what they view as the Biden administration's 'woke' agenda being imposed on federal research funding. The issue has become a flashpoint in the ongoing debate over transgender rights and the role of government in funding related scientific studies.

The details

The letter, signed by Gosar and backed by GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain and over a dozen other lawmakers, asks appropriators to include language in the fiscal year 2027 spending bill banning federal funding for research on animals studying the effects of 'drugs, surgery, or other interventions' intended to alter the human body. This follows language explicitly banning transgender experiments on animals that was included in the 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill.

  • In June 2025, a federal judge ordered that funding for hundreds of NIH studies, including trans mice research, be restored.
  • Just days ago, the NIH awarded another $584,117 to the University of California, San Diego for fiscal year 2026 to continue a mouse study examining the effects of cross-sex hormone treatments.

The players

Rep. Paul Gosar

A Republican congressman from Arizona who is spearheading the effort to block federal funding for transgender animal experiments.

Rep. Lisa McClain

The Republican Conference Chair from Michigan who is backing Gosar's letter.

Dr. Anthony Fauci

The former director of the National Institutes of Health who is accused of directing millions in grants for transgender animal experiments during the Biden administration.

Justin Goodman

The senior vice president of the medical watchdog group White Coat Waste Project, which has investigated the NIH's funding of transgender animal experiments.

University of California, San Diego

The recipient of a $584,117 NIH grant for fiscal year 2026 to continue a mouse study examining the effects of cross-sex hormone treatments.

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What they’re saying

“Tax dollars shouldn't be funding the Biden Administration's sickening transgender animal tests. That's why I've been working with White Coat Waste to stop the NIH and other federal agencies from wasting money on this woke pseudoscience ever again.”

— Rep. Paul Gosar

“Even though it didn't have to, the NIH just doled out another half-million in taxpayer cash for a Biden-era experiment that crudely creates 'female mice to model transgender men' by cutting out their ovaries and pumping them with testosterone. Records obtained by White Coat Waste show this project will subject nearly 10,000 mice to horrific taxpayer-funded abuse — invasive surgeries and hormone injections meant to mimic transgender treatments, drilling into their skulls, injecting toxins into their brains, and ultimately decapitating them.”

— Justin Goodman, Senior Vice President, White Coat Waste Project

What’s next

The judge's 2025 ruling that restored funding for the transgender animal experiments only applied to that fiscal year's budget. The language in the 2026 appropriations bill banning such funding could set the stage for a renewed push to defund these experiments in the fiscal year 2027 spending bill.

The takeaway

The GOP's effort to defund the NIH's transgender animal experiments reflects the ongoing political battle over transgender rights and the role of government in funding related scientific research. The issue has become a flashpoint, with conservatives arguing that taxpayer money should not be used for what they view as 'woke pseudoscience' while proponents defend the research as important for understanding transgender health issues.