A group of House Republicans has urged a key Congressional subcommittee to include language in the Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations bill that would ban federal funding for what they call “transgender experiments on animals.” The effort, led by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and joined by Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Nancy Mace (R-SC), Brandon Gill (R-TX), Elijah Crane (R-AZ), Pete Stauber (R-MN), Abraham Hamadeh (R-AZ), and Troy Nehls (R-TX), targets biomedical studies funded through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that examine the physiological impacts of hormone therapy and gender-affirming interventions using animal models.
In a letter to Subcommittee Chairman Robert Aderholt (R-AL) and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), the lawmakers demanded the following provision be added to the FY2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies bill:
“None of the funds made available by this or any other Act thereafter may be used for research on vertebrate animals for the purpose of studying the effects of drugs, surgery, or other interventions to alter the human body … to no longer correspond to its biological sex.”
The request, based on reports from the White Coat Waste Project, a conservative watchdog group focused on animal testing, claims NIH-funded experiments involve creating “transfeminine” and “transmasculine” animals through hormone therapies and surgeries. These animals, the group alleges, are subsequently subjected to traumatic procedures, including shock, wounding, and injections of illicit substances.
President Donald Trump has also condemned such studies, and his administration has already cut over $1 million in grants, including one that explored how hormone-treated rats responded to overdose scenarios involving so-called “party drugs.” According to White Coat Waste, 29 similar NIH grants remain active.
While Republicans frame the move as a moral and fiscal imperative, critics warn it’s a backdoor attack on transgender healthcare and scientific progress. Experts in biomedical research note that animal models are a necessary step in understanding how hormone therapies and gender-affirming medications impact human biology, insights crucial to ensuring safety and efficacy for transgender patients.
“Scientific study using animal models is a longstanding part of how we improve patient care,” said Dr. Liana Everett, a researcher in endocrinology. “To shut down this line of inquiry is not just political; it’s reckless. It puts lives at risk by halting the development of better, safer treatments.”
Medical researchers argue these bans risk stalling discoveries that could reduce side effects, personalize hormone dosages, and better prepare the healthcare system to support transgender individuals. The rhetoric used by proponents of the bill, labeling such research “cruel” or “wasteful,” fails to recognize the medical necessity behind it.
“It’s deeply concerning to see scientific research framed as a culture war issue,” said Avery James, a transgender healthcare advocate. “Studies like these are about improving healthcare outcomes, not pushing ideology. Trans people deserve the same quality of care as everyone else, and that starts with evidence-based research.”
The White Coat Waste Project’s senior vice president, Justin Goodman, praised the GOP-led proposal, calling it “commonsense” and a victory against what he described as “wasteful transgender animal tests.” He emphasized the group’s role in uncovering and publicizing the experiments and credited Rep. Gosar and others for pursuing legislative action.
Still, for many in the LGBTQ+ community and scientific fields, the proposed funding ban is part of a broader pattern of eroding access to trans-affirming healthcare and weaponizing misinformation to sway public sentiment.
“This is not about saving animals,” said James. “This is about making it harder to treat trans people.”
As the FY2026 spending bills take shape, advocates and researchers alike are watching closely. The stakes for transgender individuals and their allies extend beyond mere experimentation; they have a significant impact on the future of care, science, and survival.
