Newly confirmed U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the Trump administration is prioritizing efforts to lower egg prices, which have soared due to inflation and avian flu, Breitbart reported.
Rollins, confirmed Thursday as secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said in an exclusive interview with Breitbart News that the Trump administration is swiftly addressing skyrocketing egg prices.
"First of all, it's very clear that the president campaigned on significant and transformational change," Rollins said. "Having been next to him for three years in the last White House, having launched the America First Policy Institute to continue the America First policies beyond President Trump — when I launched it, I didn't know he was going to run again, but we knew when the next conservative administration came in we wanted to be ready."
She underscored Trump's commitment to reversing these trends.
"In many of his interviews and campaign stops, he talked about what happened under [former President] Joe Biden and the inflation rates and what that has done to moms who are trying to buy groceries," Rollins said. "I am a mom of four teenagers. I feel this like everybody else does."
Egg prices have reached a nearly 40-year high, driven by inflation and avian flu outbreaks that have devastated flocks across the country.
Rollins said she wasted no time tackling the issue, holding immediate briefings on egg prices upon taking office.
"My very first briefing — I think I was voted on around noon yesterday, I was sworn in around 3, took a couple of pictures, and then I immediately went into a briefing on avian flu and egg prices with the team at USDA," Rollins said.
"We're looking at every tool in the toolkit, including biosecurity measures," Rollins said. "Maybe with the cancellation of DEI programs, identifying additional funding for our farmers to protect against the avian flu is really important."
"There are other countries that use vaccines for their egg-layers that have none of these issues," Rollins noted. "That's a complicated solution because there are trade implications. But when Canada's price of eggs is much lower than ours, and they're using that approach, we need to take a strong look at it."
Rollins criticized the previous administration's handling of the crisis, particularly regarding depopulation measures to combat avian flu.
"Working to accelerate repopulation as the Biden administration and their USDA depopulated — wiped out — millions of egg-layers," Rollins said. "How do we quickly repopulate those farmers and their flocks? These are all important points, and there are other things we can do, but this won't happen overnight."
"There is a good chance we begin to cool this down over the coming weeks, more likely the coming months," Rollins said. "But there is not a magic wand to be waved here. There are things we can do to begin tackling it not just for the next quarter but for the next decade to ensure this doesn't happen again."
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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