President Donald Trump has directed the NIH to study ‘regret’ after transgender people transition, as he continues to clamp down on ‘wokeness’ in government agencies. 

Several NIH staff members who spoke under the condition of anonymity, confirmed the directive to Nature. 

Two weeks ago, Matthew Memoli, who was acting NIH director at the time, sent an email that was obtained by Nature. It outlined two areas of research the Trump administration wants to fund concerning the transgender experience.

The first focus is ‘regret and detransition following social transition as well as chemical and surgical mutilation of children and adults’ and the second research request is ‘outcomes from children who have undergone social transition and/or chemical and surgical mutilation’.

But Harry Barbee, who studies LGBTQ+ topics at Johns Hopkins University, says the decision to solely focus on the negative consequences of transitioning will only serve to support what trans advocate call Trump’s anti-trans agenda.

Estimates suggest there are 1.6million transgender Americans in the US. About 25 percent of them undergo gender-affirming surgery. Research has suggested these procedures reduce anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts. 

According to an analysis by Barbee and their colleagues, fewer than one percent of transgender people regret the surgeries, compared to 14 percent of all people who regret any type of surgery. 

It is believed NIH grants funding around 187 trans-health studies have been cut, according to research conducted by Brittany Charlton, an epidemiologist at Boston’s Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.

US District Judge Brendan Hurson, of Baltimore, extended the nationwide block on a Trump executive order, which halted government funding for doctors providing gender-affirming care for transgender youth under age 19

Protesters fill the Iowa state Capitol to denounce a bill that would strip the state civil rights code of protections based on gender identity in February 2025 in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

The NIH spends nearly $48 billion annually on medical research on topics ranging from cancer to diabetes, making it the largest single public funder of biomedical and behavioral research in the world.

Employees who spoke anonymously to Nature said the White House sometimes steers the agency to topics to focus on but this latest move takes on a more hands-on approach with ‘specificity, inflammatory language and focus on a hyper-polarizing topic.’

One employee said: ‘[Although the White House can sometimes] push us on various different things, we normally get to chart out the approach.’ 

Barbee, who identifies as non-binary and queer, told Nature: ‘[It will create] a distorted research ecosystem where only politically favorable findings are permitted to exist [and an] evidence vacuum for clinicians who are trying to do right by their patients.’

But the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) – which is the NIH’s parent agency – has defended the line of research.  

A spokesperson from the HSS, which is headed up by Robert FKennedy Jr, said: ‘NIH is prioritizing research that serves the best interests of public health, not ideological agendas, and will continue to support studies that provide clear, objective data – particularly regarding the long-term effects of gender transitions.’

On day one in office, Trump signed an order ensuring federal agencies recognize only two sexes, male and female, and to reject the concept of ‘gender ideology’.

He also signed an executive order freezing government funding for transgender surgeries but that was overridden by a judge.

US District Judge Brendan Hurson of Baltimore managed to extend a nationwide block on the executive order, which halted government funding for doctors providing gender-affirming care for transgender youth under age 19.

The preliminary injunction from Hurson keeps enforcement of the orders on hold while the case plays out, though the administration is expected to appeal. 

President Trump’s executive order stated ‘it is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called “transition” of a child from one sex to another.’

The above map from the Movement Advancement Project shows states with bans or restrictions on transgender care. States in dark green have ‘shield’ laws protecting care access, while those in light green have ‘shield’ executive orders in place. States in tan neither have bans nor ‘shield’ laws. Those in light orange have bans on surgeries for trans youth, and those in dark orange have bans on medications and surgeries. If a state has a red symbol, it is a felony to provide certain care in these states

The order axed federal funding to clinics providing treatment to minors in a bid to ‘rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures’ and compared transgender surgeries to ‘chemical and surgical mutilation.’

While regret is rare, there are instances where transgender people said they wish they didn’t go through with their transitions and these detransitioners have also spoken out against gender-affirming surgeries. 

Retired Navy SEAL Kristin Beck made headlines when he detransitioned and reverted to his previous name, Chris Beck. 

He called transitioning ‘the worst mistake’ of his life and described being given hormones after a one-hour consultation at Veterans Affairs.

He came out as trans in an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper in 2013. Beck underwent grueling facial feminization surgery, but stopped short of genital surgery.

Beck served in the Navy for 20 years, including on the elite unit SEAL Team Six, and is now turning his attention to the health of young people who are considering similar choices to his.

Meanwhile, Chloe Cole, who transitioned to male at 13 before later regretting her decision at 16, likened gender-affirming surgery to an ‘experimentation on children.’ 

She previously recalled her path from transitioning to ‘detransitioning,’ indicating how taking puberty blockers and having surgery ‘irreversibly and painfully’ damaged her body.

Her regret stemmed from a belief that she was influenced by social media, not gender dysphoria, and she now directs blame toward the medical professionals whom she says did not question her decision to transition.

‘I was failed by the system,’ she said. ‘I literally lost organs.’

Trump’s order prompted several high-profile hospital systems like Children’s National Hospital in Washington DC and NYU Langone in New York City to stop prescribing puberty blockers or hormones to youth or suspend care completely.

Hurson argued Trump’s executive order is ‘unconstitutional’ and goes against state policies.

He wrote: ‘The challenged provisions of the Executive Orders place significant conditions on federal funding that Congress did not prescribe.

‘This, the Constitution simply does not allow, as there is no provision in the Constitution that authorizes the President to enact, to amend, or to repeal statutes.’

The government funds public hospital systems in order to pay for care, keep infrastructure updated, and provide care to low-income populations.

Gender-affirming care has often fallen under this umbrella because experts suggest it could improve a patient’s mental and physical health.

Hurson’s block comes after seven families of transgender or nonbinary children, along with transgender advocacy groups, filed a lawsuit over the orders last month, arguing the policy is discriminatory because it does not prohibit federal funding for the same treatments for non-transgender patients.

And just days earlier, a judge in Seattle blocked the executive order for trans youth in Washington, Minnesota, Oregon, and Colorado in a lawsuit from attorneys general in those states.

Attorneys general in Democrat-led states like California and New York have also urged doctors to keep providing care to transgender kids, arguing that pulling the plug on trans care services would violate state laws.

As of December 2024, 26 states have passed bans on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender children and teenagers, according to the Movement Advancement Project.

Transition surgery, which can include removing the breasts (also called ‘top surgery’) and changes to genitalia, under 18 is extremely rare and decided on a case-by-case basis by teams of primary care doctors, psychologists, endocrinologists, and surgeons.

Trans children typically begin their transition with puberty blockers. These medications delay the onset of puberty to provide the child and their family with more time to decide whether to pursue hormone therapies.

Hormone therapies, meanwhile, typically begin in a child’s teenage years to help them develop secondary sex characteristics. A girl transitioning to become a boy, for instance, may take hormones to deepen their voice and grow body hair.

After undergoing hormone therapy, a trans person may choose to undergo surgery to medically transition, though not everyone does this.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the NIH and is awaiting a request for comment.