President Trump’s order to flood grocery stores with imported ground beef is drawing sharp pushback from Republican lawmakers in the cattle-producing states that helped elect him, as the White House tries to balance grocery-bill relief against the fortunes of ranchers ahead of the midterms.
Trump signed the order last week to bring 300,000 metric tons of imported ground beef into the U.S. market, with a commitment that the product sell at 25% below current market prices over a 90-day window. The administration says the move will ease consumer prices while giving American ranchers time to rebuild herds that have shrunk to their lowest levels since the 1950s, a decline driven by drought and the invasive New World screwworm, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
But lawmakers from South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Montana and Texas say the policy is landing hardest on the very ranchers who form a loyal part of Trump’s political base.
‘Why would he do this to us?’
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., who is up for re-election, said South Dakota voters who feel a personal loyalty to Trump are struggling to reconcile that with the beef import order.
“They’re hurt. I mean, they feel like they’ve been let down,” Rounds said. “Like, how could, you know, our friend, this guy that’s as close to us as they’ve ever been to a president, how could he do this to them? I mean, that’s the way they feel. And that’s the expression they’re giving me is, ‘Why would he do this to us? Doesn’t he understand ag?'”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Keloland he supports the goal of lower beef prices but not this method. “I’m sympathetic to what he’s trying to get done. He’s trying to lower beef prices, which I think we’re all supportive of. I just don’t think this is the way to do it. And so, we have a lot of beef producers here in South Dakota; they produce the highest-quality beef in the world, and we’re trying to build our herds back up,” Thune said.
Timing worries ranchers heading to market
Rep. Troy Downing, R-Mont., said the volume of imported beef is small relative to the market, but the 90-day timing overlaps with the season when ranchers bring cattle to market. “If a rancher is expecting to get a price at market that suddenly drops out from underneath them, they’re faced with two things — they don’t have a stable market, so do I invest in heifers for next year? Or do I have to sell more calves to make up for that deficit for my operating costs? Which, neither one is helping rebuild the herd,” Downing said.
Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, said he raised the issue directly with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer during a closed-door meeting with House Republicans on Wednesday, and planned to press it again at a White House dinner with Trump that evening. “This is not just a one-year issue on the affordability of beef. We’ve got to make sure that we’ve got a Made-in-America-first beef program. That means standing with our cattlemen on that,” Nunn said.
Sources inside that meeting told Fox News Digital that Greer acknowledged ranchers’ frustration but described the import strategy as temporary, meant to ease prices in the short term. Several House Republicans said they remained concerned as they left the room.
The administration’s defense
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, speaking at an event in Iowa on Tuesday, said the administration understood that “ranchers felt like that was a gut punch.”
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Trump “has done more for American agriculture than anyone,” pointing to trade deals, expanded foreign market access, lower input costs, a strengthened farm safety net, a doubled death tax exemption, elimination of taxes on rural property loan interest, and new rural opportunity zones. “At the same time, he is delivering on his promise to consumers by reducing beef prices while allowing our American beef herd to grow,” Kelly said. “The President will continue taking actions to support our great farmers while driving economic prosperity for all Americans.”
House Main Street Caucus Chairman Mike Flood, R-Neb., said he opposes any “tariff regime that undercuts American ranchers” even while crediting Trump’s broader agenda for helping in the “big picture.”
Republicans push alternatives
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., led a group of Republicans in writing to Rollins and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum urging them to roll back Biden-era rules and ease federal restrictions on grazing land access for cattle. “The Federal government must remain laser-focused on partnering with the industry and state efforts for ranchers, expand grazing on public and private lands, and improve protein processing capacity,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter Tuesday.
Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, said he expects “quite a few” follow-up meetings on the issue, describing Wednesday’s session as productive. Lawmakers also noted that anxiety over the beef policy is compounded by an ongoing trade dispute with Canada, which one House Republican said has made lawmakers from northern border states “nervous.”
