Republicans are beefing with Trump over beef
President Donald Trump wants to import meat from Argentina to lower beef prices. Republicans from rural states aren't happy about it.
Zachary SchermeleWASHINGTON – There's beef about beef between Congress and the White House.
A group of rural-state Republicans, typically loath to criticize President Donald Trump, is frustrated with plans he revealed last weekend on Air Force One to import more beef from Argentina amid record-high prices. An administration official confirmed Wednesday the United States is preparing to quadruple its beef purchases from the South American country.
"Prices are way down in our country. The only cost that's really up is beef," Trump said in the Oval Office on Oct. 22. "We're going to do something very quickly and easily on beef to get it down. The ranchers understand that."
Yet ranchers have so far been far from sympathetic to the move, with prominent cattle producer groups accusing Trump in recent days of undercutting them.
“If President Trump is truly an ally of America’s cattle producers, we call on him to abandon this effort to manipulate markets," said Colin Woodall, CEO of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
That reaction has left lawmakers like Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska rattled. Her state, where cattle outnumber people, has the "best beef in the world," she said.
"I have deep concerns," she told USA TODAY.
In a show of rare disapproval, some congressional Republicans are urging Trump to reconsider.
On Oct. 21, a group of House GOP lawmakers from rural states like North Dakota and Montana sent a letter to the president and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to express their concerns. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, said he met with the president and his Cabinet member at the White House to talk about it.
"I suggested that energy prices across the country are down not because we imported additional energy from other countries, but because we started producing more energy right here in the United States," Rounds said in a statement. "The same rule should apply for American beef."
As backlash mounted this week, several federal agencies announced a suite of actions meant to strengthen the American beef industry, including speeding up deregulation.
“We are protecting our beef industry and incentivizing new ranchers to take up the noble vocation of ranching," Rollins said in a statement.
Beef prices at record highs
Disagreement comes as beef prices in the U.S. have soared.
In part due to drought, the country's cattle herd is smaller than it's been in decades.
The Agriculture Department reported in July that the average retail beef price was $9.69 per pound, up roughly $1 from the prior year and $3.60 compared to 2019.
In response, restaurant chains like Ohio's City Barbeque have started prioritizing other meats, including chicken and pork, amid fears of customer sticker shock, according to the Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Not every Republican is worried about the issue, though. Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas said that Americans wouldn't feel it even if the U.S. increased its beef imports from Argentina by 10 times what they are now.
"I think the White House will make the right policy moves," he told USA TODAY, adding there will be a "huge demand" for American beef no matter what.
Zachary Schermele is a congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.