What Are Transgenic Mice? Trump’s Claim That Biden Spent Millions To Make Mice Transgender Sends Folks Into A Tailspin

In a lengthy address to Congress on Tuesday, President Donald Trump alleged the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) discovered an $8 million governmental effort to make “mice transgender,” according to Rolling Stone.

Though Trump doubled down on his analysis, telling America “this is real,” it, in fact, is not.

The “transgenic” mice that Trump referred to have nothing to do with gender identity, but rather they are a “revolutionary research resource” for medical progression.

Fact checks of Trump’s transgender mice claim

Following Trump’s speech, the White House shared a list of federal grants totaling $8.3 million for health studies involving mice receiving gender-affirming healthcare treatments, CNN reported. That list clarified that the intention of those studies was to observe how these treatments may affect the humans who take them, not to make mice transgender.

One of those grants provided the National Cancer Institute with $299,940 in 2023 to evaluate breast cancer rates among testosterone-taking female mice. Because hormone regulation of breast development is similar between mice and humans, such a study could be pivotal in determining how taking testosterone can affect a biologically female body.

Two other grants, totaling $455,120, finance projects from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases between fiscal yeas 2023 and 2024 to compare the differences between the efficacy of an HIV vaccine in mice who had and had not received cross-sex hormone therapy.

Reactions to “transgenic mice” vs “transgender mice”

Many of the roughly 36.6 million people who watched Trump’s address to Congress took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to condemn the president’s misinformation.

Jimmy Kimmel used the opening monologue of a March 5 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! to call out Trump and his serious issue with the facts, Variety reported.

“You know, you hear the president of the United States say we’re spending $8 million to do sex change operations on mice,” he began. “You say, ‘Well, I’m sure he’s exaggerating, but there must be something there.’ Turns out there’s not. It’s not real.”

Trump’s comments about “transgender” mice come as his administration has worked tirelessly to diminish diversity programs and LGBTQIA+ visibility and rights. According to NBC News, in January, Trump signed executive orders forcing the U.S. government to recognize only two sexes (male and female) and ending “radical and wasteful” diversity, equity and inclusion programs within federal agencies.