Trump Administration’s "DOGE" Unit Cuts Funding for Transgender Animal Studies, Expands Credit Card Audit
A cost-cutting initiative led by the Trump administration, operating under the moniker "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE), has announced the cancellation of several grants earmarked for transgender-related experiments on animals. Simultaneously, the program is expanding its audit of federal agencies, targeting unused and potentially misused government-issued credit cards. Elon Musk, identified as the leader of DOGE, cited the need for increased transparency and accountability in government spending, particularly in light of what he described as "a lot of shady expenditures."
The core of the funding cuts revolves around grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). DOGE reports that seven such grants have been terminated, with some of the research projects raising concerns among conservative lawmakers and animal welfare advocates. Specific examples cited include a $532,000 grant designated to employ a mouse model in the study of the impact of cross-sex testosterone treatment. Another grant, amounting to $33,000, involved the testing of feminizing hormone therapy on male rats.
The agency’s statement, disseminated via the social media platform X, emphasized its ongoing commitment to "advancing biomedical research under NIH’s priorities" while simultaneously "promoting radical transparency in alignment with the @POTUS agenda." The statement further asserted that the agency’s actions are "driven by accountability to all Americans as we push forward in science and public health."
These funding cuts and research practices have recently faced intense scrutiny from Republican lawmakers who have expressed concerns about taxpayer funds being utilized for animal studies related to transgender issues. The issue was brought to the forefront during a hearing held on February 6 by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. The hearing, provocatively titled "Transgender Lab Rats and Poisoned Puppies: Oversight of Taxpayer Funded Animal Cruelty," featured testimony from Justin Goodman of the White Coat Waste Project (WCW), a watchdog group that advocates against government-funded animal research.
Goodman testified that the federal government has spent millions of dollars on "transgender animal testing." He described the experimental procedures in graphic detail, stating that "In a lot of these cases, they involve mice, rats, monkeys, who are being surgically mutilated and subjected to hormone therapies to mimic female to male or male to female gender transitions, gender-affirming hormone therapies, and then looking at the biological, psychological and physiological effects of the gender transitions, looking at the effects of taking vaccines after you’ve transitioned these animals from male to female or female to male, looking at the size of their genitals changing after you’ve put them on estrogen or testosterone therapies to transition them."
Beyond the NIH grant cancellations, DOGE has also been actively pursuing an audit of credit card usage across federal agencies. The pilot program, designed to identify and deactivate unused or unnecessary credit cards, has now been expanded to encompass 16 additional agencies. Initial results from the audit have been significant, with DOGE reporting that 146,000 credit cards were deactivated within the first two weeks of the program.
The agency further clarified the scope of the project on X, stating, "As a reminder, at the start of the audit, there were ~4.6M active cards/accounts, so still more work to do." Musk has pointed to the high credit limits associated with many of these government-issued cards, suggesting the potential for misuse and waste. "There are still almost twice as many credit/purchasing cards as people in the government, and the limits are $10,000! A lot of shady expenditures happening," he remarked.
However, not all sectors of the government support Musk’s initiatives. The Department of Defense (DOD) reportedly sent a memo to its civilian workforce instructing them to ignore Musk’s request to report on productivity. This points to potential resistance within some government agencies toward the DOGE’s efforts to increase efficiency and cut costs.
Musk himself has been vocal about the importance of these measures, even going so far as to claim that the U.S. risks bankruptcy if significant action isn’t taken to curb government spending. He reportedly told members of the cabinet that the DOGE email requesting productivity reports was a "pulse check" for workers, indicating his desire to assess the level of commitment to efficiency within government agencies.
The efforts of the DOGE under Elon Musk’s leadership are clearly intended to bring about significant changes in how the government operates, particularly concerning funding for research and the use of government credit cards. The agency seems determined to increase transparency and accountability in government spending. By targeting specific research projects and scrutinizing credit card usage, the DOGE is hoping to identify areas of waste and misuse. While these initiatives have been welcomed by some, the controversy surrounding the nature of the research being defunded, combined with the pushback from some government agencies, suggests that DOGE’s efforts will continue to face significant challenges.
These actions reflect the Trump administration’s broader focus on reducing government spending and streamlining operations. Whether the long-term impact of DOGE’s initiatives will result in genuine cost savings and increased efficiency remains to be seen. However, the debates surrounding these issues, particularly the ethical considerations surrounding animal research and the responsible management of taxpayer funds, are likely to continue as the program moves forward.
