Meat+Poultry
Republican senators express support for Trump’s meatpacking inquiry
By Ryan McCarthy
WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers have expressed various views on President Donald Trump's call to investigate meat companies over the rising price of beef.
Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) recently met with officials from the Trump administration to discuss the future of American beef along with Senators Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) and Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.).
“It’s clear that the President and his team are listening to producers from across the country and are committed to taking action to strengthen the cattle market and bring down the price of fertilizer,” Hyde-Smith wrote on the social media platform X on Nov. 10. “The path forward we discussed will bring tremendous benefits to rural America, and I couldn’t be prouder to stand up for and represent the hardworking men and women who feed our nation.”
Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD), who sits on the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, shared his support on X as well following the announcement by Trump on Nov. 9.
“For years, I’ve been calling for DOJ to investigate the four large meat packing companies,” Rounds said on social media. “President Trump has started that ball rolling! As we know, consumers are paying high prices for beef at the grocery store while cow-calf operators are barely making ends meet. Most of the profit that’s made in between is going directly into the pockets of four companies who control over 80% of the meat packing market. Two of these big packers are foreign owned. Bringing in boxed beef from overseas was never going to solve this issue. To fix it, you have to get to the heart of the issue: investigate the packers and prevent noncompetitive practices in the market. This is a big step in the right direction. The next step is Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling.”
In the House of Representatives, Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who has become more vocal in criticizing President Trump in recent months, shared a differing viewpoint from some of his fellow Republicans.
“Brazilian owned meatpacker JBS, through its US subsidiary Pilgrim’s Pride, donated $5 million to the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee, which was the largest single contribution to the fund,” Massie said on X. “As long as we don’t have country of origin labels on our beef, this is all just BS!”
In late October, Trump made comments about the US importing more beef from Argentina. Following that comment, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins explained a new USDA cattle plan aimed at addressing high costs for both consumers and farmers.
In late October, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) said in a statement that efforts to manipulate markets only risk damaging the livelihoods of American cattlemen and women, while doing little to impact the price consumers are paying at the grocery store.
“The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and its members cannot stand behind the president while he undercuts the future of family farmers and ranchers by importing Argentinian beef in an attempt to influence prices,” said Colin Woodall, chief executive officer of NCBA in October. “It is imperative that President Trump and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins let the cattle markets work.”
Earlier in 2025, MEAT+POULTRY covered the various factors contributing to the rising beef prices, including growing consumer demand, tariffs, concerns about the New World screwworm, labor issues and other factors.