A controversial new United States bill, known as the TRANS MICE Act, is drawing widespread criticism and plenty of raised eyebrows online for targeting what Republican lawmakers describe as “transgender animal experiments”.
Introduced by Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace, the proposed legislation carries the deliberately provocative title Transgender Research on Animals Now Stops and Money for Ideological Cruelty Eliminated Act, shortened to the acronym TRANS MICE Act.
The bill was introduced in the US House of Representatives on 17 July 2025 and referred to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. It would prohibit federal funding for certain animal research involving drugs, hormones, surgeries or other interventions intended to alter an animal’s body so it no longer corresponds to its biological sex, with exemptions for species that naturally change sex or possess both male and female reproductive organs.
A bill to ban “transgender research” on animals
The proposal is the latest in a growing series of anti-trans measures championed by conservatives aligned with US President Donald Trump, who have increasingly made transgender issues a central feature of their political campaigns.
Mace has previously held hearings attacking what she described as taxpayer-funded “transgender experiments”, despite researchers and critics noting that many of the studies being targeted involve legitimate scientific investigations into hormones, disease processes and human health outcomes.
“Americans are rightfully tired of seeing their tax dollars spent on wasteful experiments disguised as research while advancing a political agenda,” Mace said in a statement announcing the bill.
“This legislation brings accountability, ends taxpayer-funded cruelty, and ensures science serves the public, not ideology. It protects both animals and the integrity of public trust. We commend the work White Coat Waste Project has done to shine a light on this issue and help drive meaningful reform.”
The bill’s title has also become a source of mockery online, after confusion and criticism emerged around the phrase “trans mice” and the long-established scientific term “transgenic mice”, which refers to genetically modified laboratory mice used in medical research.
After Mace promoted the bill on social media, a community fact check was added noting that “trans mice” can refer to transgenic mice rather than “transgender mice”. Transgenic mice are used to study gene function and disease mechanisms, including in cancer research.
Mace later clarified her intention, writing: “This post is not about transgenic mice. It is about federally funded transgender-related experiments on animals.
“The bill is called the Transgender Research on Animals Now Stops and Money for Ideological Cruelty Eliminated Act, also known as the TRANS MICE Act.
“The Community Note addresses ‘transgenic mice,’ which is a completely different topic.”
White Coat Waste Project backs the proposal
The legislation has also received support from conservative advocacy organisation White Coat Waste Project.
“Thanks to the outstanding leadership of Rep. Nancy Mace and White Coat Waste’s viral investigations, the Trump Administration has slashed spending on wasteful experiments that subject lab animals to invasive surgeries and hormone therapies to crudely mimic gender transitions in kids and adults—only to later wound, shock and inject the animals with viruses, vaccines and overdoses of sex-party drugs,” said Justin Goodman.
“These Trump cuts have already saved thousands of lab animals and millions of tax dollars, but we’ve uncovered dozens of active grants that also have funnelled federal dollars to disturbing transgender animal tests. Taxpayers shouldn’t ever be forced to foot the bill for wasteful and disturbing transgender animal tests—and Rep. Mace’s commonsense TRANS MICE Act will ensure they won’t be.”
The proposal arrives amid an ongoing wave of anti-trans legislation in the United States, from attempts to restrict gender-affirming healthcare to efforts limiting participation in sport.
Critics argue politicians are increasingly prioritising symbolic culture-war battles over genuine public policy concerns, while potentially undermining research that could contribute to wider understandings of hormones, health and disease.
For now, the TRANS MICE Act has become both another front in America’s anti-trans political push and a viral example of how culture-war rhetoric can collide with scientific terminology.
