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Despite early efforts by the Trump administration to curtail controversial government-funded experiments involving transgender hormone testing on animals, dozens of federal grants continue to operate, with recent data showing approximately 40 such programs still receiving funding, including one through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The administration’s recent initiative to reduce government spending and eliminate wasteful programs targeted seven grants funding these animal experiments. However, three significant programs identified in the White House’s announcement remain operational, with nearly $4 million in taxpayer funding still allocated.
Among these ongoing projects, Duke University continues to receive $455,000 to conduct experiments involving the injection of mice with cross-sex hormones, examining how gender-affirming estrogen therapy affects HIV vaccine responses. At Harvard’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, researchers maintain access to approximately $300,000 in funding to investigate testosterone therapy’s effects on female mice with induced breast cancer. Meanwhile, Indiana University retains over $3.1 million in taxpayer support to examine how transgender hormone therapy might influence asthma risk in animals.
Yesterday, @NIH cancelled seven grants for transgender experiments on animals including:
– $532K to “use a mouse model to investigate the effects of cross-sex testosterone treatment”
– $33K to test “feminizing hormone therapy in the male rat”— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) March 5, 2025
These studies represent just a fraction of a broader federal initiative that has directed almost $400 million in taxpayer money toward transgender animal testing research. The scope of these experiments extends from surgical modifications of rat gonads to simulate sex-change procedures to administering testosterone to young mice.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has also become entangled in this research agenda, funding a study examining how gender-transition hormone therapy affects bone structure – a research focus that appears tangentially related to veteran healthcare outcomes.
The VA’s continued involvement in such research has sparked particular controversy, especially given DOGE’s explicit stance against DEI-driven expenditures. Questions remain about why officials within both the VA and National Science Foundation continue to prioritize these projects under the current administration.
The controversy extends beyond questions of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, raising concerns about scientific merit and resource allocation that could potentially serve other priorities.
While the Trump Administration has made notable progress in addressing these issues, many of these studies persist, with American tax dollars continuing to support critical theory initiatives, suggesting that significant work remains to resolve this ongoing debate.
