Overview
- Earlier this week Rep. Nancy Mace posted on X that she would introduce the "TRANS MICE Act" to ban federal funds for research she described as altering an animal’s biological sex.
- X users and a platform community note pointed out that the term 'trans mice' is commonly shorthand for transgenic mice, which are genetically modified animals used to study genes and disease.
- Mace responded by saying her bill targets "federally funded transgender-related experiments on animals" and she released the bill’s full name while maintaining her position.
- Scientists, journalists and fact-checkers widely corrected the record, noting the cited studies involve transgenic models used in cancer and asthma research and are not studies of gender-affirming care.
- The episode echoes earlier false claims about "making mice transgender" by President Trump and highlights a wider risk that scientific terms can be politicized in ways that could threaten routine biomedical research funding.