Fighting a political pest
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The Trump administration is mobilizing to ensure the screwworm doesn't further threaten cattle in Texas — and become a political pest.
Why it matters: President Trump and the GOP are already reeling from soaring beef prices and accelerating inflation.
State of play: The Department of Agriculture tells Axios it's deploying a $1.3 billion "New World Screwworm response."
- That includes setting up a $750 million Texas plant to produce and release 300 million sterile male screwworm flies every week.
Threat level: The first U.S. case of screwworm was detected in South Texas on June 3 — one day after Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins (former CEO of the Austin-based Texas Public Policy Foundation) denied a claim by a Texas state lawmaker that the parasitic fly was found within a mile of the U.S.-Mexico border.
- There have now been 12 confirmed cases in the U.S. — 11 in Texas and one in New Mexico. They've mostly been in cattle, but also in sheep, goats and a dog.
By the numbers: The outbreak comes with beef prices near record highs and the cattle herd at its lowest level in 75 years, depressed by a prolonged drought.
- The screwworm's arrival hasn't measurably affected beef prices. But its spread in Mexico has cut cattle imports and added to price pressures.