Trump administration weighs new strategy to curb bird flu as public fumes over egg prices, shortages

Which came first: rising egg prices or President Trump’s lagging poll numbers on the economy?

It doesn’t matter much to the public. Americans say Mr. Trump has not fulfilled a promise to “immediately” lower grocery costs. Their frustration is exacerbated by the shockingly high price of eggs, which increased under President Biden but soared since Mr. Trump took office.

Trump administration officials are planning a new approach to curb the bird flu virus, which is the source of the problem. Polls show the public is impatient for the president to tackle inflation, which was by far the most crucial voter issue in the 2024 election.

Kevin Hassett, Mr. Trump’s National Economic Council director, said the administration is planning a strategy with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to eliminate the virus without extending the Biden administration’s mass slaughter of egg-laying chickens.

Mr. Hassett said “a smart perimeter” would incorporate biosecurity and medication, including a newly approved avian flu vaccine.

“We are finalizing the ideas about how to do that with the best scientists in government,” Mr. Hassett said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” Sunday. “That should have happened a year ago, and if it had, egg prices would be a lot better than they are now.”

A February Gallup Poll found that only 20% of Americans viewed the economy as “good.” A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted this month showed that only 32% of adults approved of Mr. Trump’s efforts to curb inflation.

Consumer confidence turned negative this month because of concerns about persistent inflation and other economic uncertainties. The Consumer Confidence Index dropped 7 percentage points, its largest monthly decline in more than three years.

Since his inauguration, Mr. Trump’s overall job approval rating has dipped from 51.5% to 49.3% in the Real Clear Politics average of polls. The Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll conducted Feb. 19-20 showed his approval rating at a solid 52%.

Consumers were already struggling to pay high grocery bills when the price of eggs jumped dramatically in January, just as Mr. Trump entered the White House. In some areas, shortages have left shelves empty and have prompted stores to limit purchases.

The day after Mr. Trump took office, a dozen eggs cost $6.53, according to the website Trading Economics. On Monday, the average reached a record high of $8.06.

The leading cause of the high egg prices is the spread of avian flu, which started in 2022 and has yet to be contained.

The Biden administration tried to curb the outbreak by ordering the slaughter of millions of chickens on impacted farms, but the virus persisted. It has spread to more than 1,000 cattle herds across 16 states and has infected 68 people.

More than 73 million egg-laying poultry have been slaughtered or died because of avian flu since August, according to the Farm Bureau. More than 100 million birds “throughout the poultry industry” have been affected since 2022.

Mr. Trump, who has been focused on cutting spending and shrinking the federal workforce, promised quick action to lower egg prices while blaming the Biden administration for killing chickens without curtailing the virus.

“I’m hearing so much about eggs. You’ve got to figure something out fast,” Mr. Trump told Ms. Rollins at the White House on Friday. “We inherited all this.”

Ms. Rollins held a roundtable last week with two dozen farmers to discuss ways to curb the avian flu and lower egg prices.

Ms. Rollins said Mr. Biden failed to lead on the issue. Egg prices during the Biden administration reached their highest in four decades.

“This problem wasn’t created overnight, and it will take us a little time to tackle this issue. But we will take aggressive action to help our poultry farmers combat avian flu and to make eggs affordable again,” she said.

The Department of Agriculture conditionally approved a vaccine this month to protect poultry from the virus, but its proposed use has divided the industry.

The broiler industry, which raises and processes chicken for consumption, said exporting meat from vaccinated poultry would be difficult. The export market generates billions of dollars annually for the U.S. economy.

The U.S. exports 16% of its product, making it the world’s second-largest exporter of chicken.

“Most countries, including the U.S., do not recognize countries that vaccinate as free of [avian flu] due to concerns that vaccines can mask the presence of the virus. Therefore, these countries do not import from countries that do vaccinate,” the National Chicken Council said in a statement.

The cost of chicken meat is rising, although the bird flu has affected the industry less than egg-laying poultry.

The virus has infected less than 9% of chickens raised for consumption compared with nearly 78% of egg-laying chickens.

Inflation rose at a higher-than-expected rate in January, including food and energy prices. Food costs increased 0.4%, the highest monthly increase in two years. The increase was driven mainly by the sharp rise in egg prices.

Mr. Trump promised voters he would bring down prices “starting on Day 1.” One of his first executive orders called on all government agencies to “deliver emergency price relief, consistent with applicable law, to the American people and increase the prosperity of the American worker” by reducing regulation, lowering energy prices and taking other actions.

• Tom Howell Jr. contributed to this report.