Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) lashed out after facing a wave of mockery and fact-checking over her complaints about American taxpayers supposedly paying for “trans mice.”

“Animals should not be used for radical transgender experiments,” Mace wrote on X this week. “This is not science. This is ideological cruelty paid for by the American taxpayers.”

Included in Mace’s post was an image of a mouse touching a gloves hand with the message: “NO TRANS MICE.”

“Our TRANS MICE Act ends it. No federal funds may be used to conduct, support, or fund research aimed at altering an animal’s biological sex,” Mace wrote. “No hormones. No surgeries. No taxpayer dollars spent mutilating animals in the name of transgender ideology. his legislation brings accountability, ends taxpayer-funded cruelty, and ensures science serves the public, not ideology.”

The congresswoman was hit with a community note from X that added context about “trans mice,” noting a “transgenic mouse” is not a transgender animal. It is a term used to define mice who have received foreign DNA.

“‘Trans mice’ refers to transgenic mice not transgender mice. Transgenic mice are defined as mice that have incorporated foreign DNA into their genome, allowing for the study of gene function and disease mechanisms, particularly in cancer research,” the community note reads.

Mace pushed back, claiming she wasn’t actually talking about transgenic mice, but “federally funded transgender-related experiments on animals.” She did not deploy the term “trans mice” again.

“This post is not about transgenic mice. It is about federally funded transgender-related experiments on animals,” she wrote. “The bill is called the Transgender Research on Animals Now Stops and Money for Ideological Cruelty Eliminated Act, also known as the TRANS MICE Act. The Community Note addresses “transgenic mice,” which is a completely different topic.”

Critics were quick to roast Mace’s “trans mice” declaration, informing her “transgenic mice” have nothing to do with debates involving anyone being transgender.

“Transgenic mice are laboratory animals that have had foreign DNA, such as a human gene or a specific genetic marker, artificially inserted into their genome. They are used for scientific testing,” journalist Molly Jong-Fast wrote in response.

President Donald Trump claimed last year that taxpayers were funding “making mice transgender,” though he appeared to be referring to the same thing as the medical experiments in question were not studying gender-affirming care. He also had bragged also bragged about the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cancelling such contracts.

“The idea that scientists are making mice transgender is false,” journalist Laura Barrón-López noted for PBS at the time in a fact-check of the president. “The kinds of research experiments that President Trump and the White House were pointing to is basic scientific research. These studies were not studying if gender-affirming care works. That’s a legal medical treatment that’s endorsed by major U.S. medical associations.”

Others also ran fact checks on Trump’s claims, noting the mice-involved research being referenced was used to research asthma, cancer, and more.

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