USDA exploring possibility of mass vaccinations for American poultry despite RFK Jr.'s warnings



Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. warned earlier this year that vaccinating poultry against highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5) viruses might transform farms into incubators for mutant viruses — viruses that could potentially leap to humans.

"All of my agencies have advised against the vaccination of birds," Kennedy told Fox News' Sean Hannity, "because if you vaccinate with a leaky vaccine — in other words, a vaccine that does not provide sterilizing immunity, that does not absolutely protect against the disease — you turn those flocks into mutation factories."

"They're teaching the organism how to mutate," continued Kennedy. "And it's much more likely to jump to animals if you do that."

Despite Kennedy's concern — which is apparently shared by the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration — the U.S. Department of Agriculture is looking seriously at mass vaccinations for American poultry.

A USDA spokesperson told Blaze News that the USDA "is exploring the viability of vaccinating poultry for HPAI" but noted that the "use of any vaccine has not been authorized at this time."

This vaccine exploration appears to have taken on greater energy in February when egg prices were reaching record highs.

After flying south of $3 between 1994 and 2022, the price for a dozen eggs began to rise dramatically during the second half of the Biden era, then even higher earlier this year, reaching an all-time average high of $6.22 in March.

RELATED: The 'cage-free' myth: Why everything you think you know about ethical eggs is wrong

 Allen J. Schaben/Getty Images

Although there were multiple factors at play — including the shift in various states to cage-free hens and record consumer demand — the price spikes were largely driven by the mass exterminations of commercial and backyard bird populations ordered by the USDA in response to HPAI viruses.

Blaze News previously noted that between Feb. 8, 2022 — when the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service first confirmed bird flu belonging to the clade 2.3.4.4b in an American commercial flock — and March 2025, the USDA directed the extermination of over 166.41 million birds. Fewer egg-laying birds naturally means diminished supply and higher prices.

'Vaccination in any poultry sector — egg layers, turkeys, broilers, or ducks — will jeopardize the entire export market for all U.S. poultry products.'

In a Feb. 26 op-ed, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins outlined "five steps to tackle avian flu and bring down costs for American families."

In addition to dedicating up to $500 million to help American poultry producers implement "gold-standard" biosecurity measures, increasing financial relief to farms whose flocks are affected by avian flu, removing "unnecessary regulatory burdens on egg producers where possible," and considering temporary import options, Rollins said her agency would "provide up to $100 million in research and development of vaccines and therapeutics, to improve their efficacy and efficiency."

Although egg prices have returned to relatively normal levels, a USDA spokesperson told Blaze News that the agency continues "to evaluate the potential use of vaccines."

"Before making a determination, USDA, in consultation with federal partners, will solicit feedback from state officials, veterinarians, farmers, the public health system, and the American public," said the spokesperson. "USDA is working with federal and state officials and industry stakeholders to develop a potential plan for vaccine use in the United States."

Reuters indicated that industry members anticipate that the agency will complete its plan in July.

RELATED: Cleaning up Biden’s bird flu mess falls to Trump

  Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (left) and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins (right). Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

There is some controversy over the potential mass vaccination of poultry on the business side of the equation.

Dr. John Clifford, a former USDA chief veterinary officer who advises the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council, told Reuters that chicken meat producers would be dealt a crushing blow if importers stopped importing U.S. poultry over concerns that vaccines were masking the presence of HPAI in flocks.

Some industry groups are, however, warming up to the idea.

Although the National Chicken Council previously suggested that "vaccination in any poultry sector — egg layers, turkeys, broilers, or ducks — will jeopardize the entire export market for all U.S. poultry products," they have since suggested they are on board with the program if exports go unaffected.

The United Egg Producers are apparently even more gung-ho, having helped hatch a plan suggesting an initial vaccination for baby chicks, a subsequent booster shot, then routine testing.

Nicolas Hulscher, an epidemiologist and administrator at the McCullough Foundation, has suggested mass poultry vaccinations are unwise, telling Blaze News that Kennedy's "worries about mass animal H5N1 bird flu vaccination are fully grounded in robust science."

'Biosecurity remains the best and most prudent approach to mitigate the impact of the disease today.'

When asked about the possibility that the USDA might nevertheless proceed with the mass vaccination agenda, Hulscher said that "the USDA is ignoring the glaring risks of creating dangerous mutant strains with their plans to mass vaccinate poultry against bird flu amidst a bird flu animal pandemic."

Blaze News senior editor Daniel Horowitz drove home the point in a recent op-ed, noting that "leaky, waning vaccines that rely on suboptimal antibodies against rapidly mutating viruses can lead to immune tolerance and imprinting. This can cause the immune system to misfire, resulting in negative efficacy. Any short-term protection against severe disease often comes at a long-term cost as the viruses adapt and grow stronger."

Hulscher suggested that the best way forward when tackling HPAI in domestic flocks is better biosecurity: "Installing surface-air purification systems into farms, combined with iodine-based nasal/oral prophylaxis for farm workers, is a much less risky option than mass vaccination."

On this, it appears the USDA agrees.

The agency spokesperson told Blaze News that in the meantime, "because biosecurity remains the best and most prudent approach to mitigate the impact of the disease today, USDA also continues pursuing collaborative efforts with poultry farmers and companies on education, training, and implementation of comprehensive biosecurity measures."

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Democrats left with egg on their face after cost of a dozen plummets under Trump



The price of eggs began spiraling out of control under the previous administration and continued rising even after President Donald Trump took office in January. While Trump noted that he had "inherited a mess," Democrats and their allies seized on the issue as an albatross to hang around the president's neck.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and a gaggle of other Democrats wasted no time complaining, suggesting in a letter just six days into Trump's second term that he was supposedly not doing enough to lower grocery prices. Democratic MSNBC contributor Brian Tyler Cohen, Brian Krassenstein, and other Trump critics piled on, mocking the president over the mounting egg prices.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and his comrades kept this line of attack in recent months, characterizing Trump's promise to lower prices as a lie.

Democrats' loss is once again Americans' gain.

The price of eggs has plummeted by 61% since Trump took office — a trend that forced even the president's critics at CNN to admit that his "egg price fiction has suddenly become reality."

The price for a dozen eggs remained south of $3 between 1994 and 2022. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicates that but for a few exceptions, the price during that period hovered around or below $2.

Over 5.2 million birds were culled in the last 30 days.

Prices began to skyrocket during the second half of the Biden era, then hit record highs earlier this year, reaching an all-time average high of $6.22 in March. In some places, the Associated Press indicated that consumers have been shelling out as much as a dollar per egg.

There were multiple factors at play, including the shift in various states to cage-free hens and record consumer demand. However, the primary cause was the mass exterminations of commercial and backyard bird populations ordered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in response to highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5) viruses.

RELATED: The 'cage-free' myth: Why everything you think you know about ethical eggs is wrong 

  Allen J. Schaben/Getty Images

Blaze News previously noted that between Feb. 8, 2022 — when the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspect Service first confirmed bird flu belonging to the clade 2.3.4.4b in an American commercial flock — and March 2025, the USDA had directed the extermination of over 166.41 million birds. Fewer egg-laying birds naturally means diminished supply and higher prices.

The Trump administration announced a $1 billion strategy in February to curb bird flu, protect the poultry industry, and lower egg prices. Exploring temporary import options was a big part of the administration's strategy to drive down prices — and perhaps one of the most immediately effective.

In subsequent months, the administration promoted egg imports from various countries, including Brazil, South Korea, and Turkey, and leaned on Europe to export more. Simultaneously, the administration relaxed regulations for eggs laid by hens raised for meat, reported Reuters.

While the bird flu, which is endemic in wild birds, is still infecting commercial flocks — over 5.2 million birds were culled in the last 30 days — the importation of eggs and the easing of restrictions on eggs have helped lower prices.

RELATED: The California law clucking up US egg prices — and how to beat it

  

The USDA indicated on Friday that a major reason why prices are down is below-average demand for eggs.

"Shell egg demand posted a slight improvement headed into the Memorial Day weekend but remained well below average in the continuation of a trend that began during the sharp price increases in late winter," the agency said in its weekly report.

An April study from Clarify Capital highlighted by Fox Business noted that 34% of Americans had stopped buying eggs on account of the rising prices; 61% of Americans reported eating fewer eggs; and 44% reported using eggs less frequently in cooking or baking.

At the time of publication, the price of a dozen eggs was just over $2.50, according to Trading Economics.

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Majority of voters say economy 'STRONG' for the first time in nearly 4 years, now with Trump in charge



Polling conducted in the wake of President Donald Trump's "total reset" with China, his new tariff deal with the United Kingdom, and inflation's drop to a four-year low revealed on Monday years-high voter confidence in the strength of the economy and a healthy dip in voter pessimism regarding their personal financial situations.

According to the latest Harvard CAPS/Harris poll, 51% of voters — whose top issue altogether after price increases and inflation was the economy — said the economy was "strong." Last month, only 46% said so, and there hasn't been a majoritively positive response to this question since July 2021.

Fifty percent of voters expressed confidence the president's policies will lead to stronger economic growth.

Despite this perceived strength, 51% of respondents suggested the economy was nevertheless on the wrong track. When broken down by political affiliation, 72% of Republican respondents, 15% of Democratic respondents, and 28% of independent respondents alternatively said the economy was on the "right track."

Over the past few years, the percentage of Americans who said the country on the whole was on the "right track" dribbled around 30%. However, that number skyrocketed from 28% in January, when Trump took office again, to 42% the following month. It is now at 42% again after a dip in April.

'President Trump is a skilled steward of the economy.'

Last month, 45% of voters said their personal financial situation was getting worse. Pollsters found this month that such pessimism had dropped to 39%, while the percentage of respondents who said they were "just as well off" or that their situation was improving climbed four and two points, respectively.

"The majority of Trump's policies continue to see strong support especially on immigration and government efficiency, even though there is concern Trump has exceeded guardrails with executive orders and tariffs," Mark Penn, co-director of the Harvard CAPS/ Harris poll, said in a statement.

Penn added, "If he is able to successfully lower the price of prescription drugs and hold down the fort on inflation, he will be able to unlock 10% more of voters in his approval rating."

Steve Miran, chairman of Trump's Council of Economic Advisers, said in a statement to Blaze News, "The Harvard/Harris poll is a reflection of the fact that Americans know that President Trump is a skilled steward of the economy."

"The president's policies to preserve low tax rates and reduce them further, cut red tape, create energy abundance, and renegotiate America-last trade deals will combine to create a Trump economic boom — just like they did during his first term," continued Miran. "The best way to create jobs is to create incentives for businesses to hire and invest, and that's what the president's policies do."

'If it fails, Americans will be subject to a $4 trillion tax hike.'

While there is plenty of optimism around the poll results, entrepreneur and business expert Carol Roth told Blaze News that "it's tough to get a read on the consumer right now" and noted that "while the Harvard CAPS/Harris poll went into a slim majority, other consumer polls are near record lows."

"Inflation cooling has been a welcome trend for consumers, as has the tariff pause that led the market to recapture what was lost from the Liberation Day announcements," continued Roth. "But there are concerning signs with debt delinquencies rising."

RELATED: Inflation dips to 4-year low despite trade war hysteria: 'Americans are breathing a sigh of relief'

 Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

When asked whether Congress' passage of the tax bill was critical to maintaining this confidence, Miran told Blaze News that "the One Big Beautiful tax bill is a critical part of this policy suite, and if it fails, Americans will be subject to a $4 trillion tax hike, the biggest in history. That's why it's absolutely essential that we get it over the line, and we will."

'We need deregulation and tax cut permanence.'

Eighty percent of respondents said the U.S. government "should move in the next few years" to balance the budget. When asked whether reductions in government spending or increases in taxing were the way to reduce the budget deficits, 78% signaled a desire for spending cuts.

"While getting more certainty and permanence with tax cuts is critical, the big beautiful bill needs a massive diet, and failure to substantially cut spending by the GOP could undo progress on inflation and worsen our already fragile fiscal foundation," said Roth. "We need deregulation and tax cut permanence as well as trade deals and the end of tariffs to engender more growth, as well as some serious fiscal responsibility from Congress to make sure that the economy doesn't get crushed by our ever growing debt burden."

The Harvard CAPS/Harris poll found that 47% of respondents approved of the job that Trump was doing, with 87% of GOP voters approving and 83% of Democrats and 50% of independents disapproving.

The president received highest approval for his handling of immigration and on "returning America to its values," and 52% of respondents said he was doing a better job than his predecessor.

The Republican Party, meanwhile, enjoyed a positive approval rating of 52%, its highest approval rating since March 2023, whereas the Democratic Party, although no longer plumbing record approval lows, still remained 10 percentage points behind, bogged down in part by the 28% of Democrats who evidently don't like what their party is doing.

The White House did not respond to Blaze News' request for comment by publication time.

Editor's note: Carol Roth is a contributor to Blaze News.

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Trump admin takes steps to prevent illegal aliens from leeching off Social Security, welfare programs



President Donald Trump signed a memo Tuesday directing his administration to ensure that illegal aliens are not receiving taxpayer funds from Social Security Act programs, including Old-Age and Survivors Insurance, unemployment insurance, disability insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

The initiative appears to be aimed both at eliminating the monetary incentive for foreign nationals to steal into the homeland and at pressuring the noncitizen net-takers already here to either wean off the dole or hit the road.

The memo directs the Social Security Administration to: expand its fraud prosecutor programs to at least 50 U.S. attorney offices; establish a Medicare and Medicaid fraud prosecution program in 15 U.S. attorney offices; investigate earning reports of individuals supposedly 100 years or older with mismatched records; consider reinstating its civil monetary penalty program; and reinforce program integrity measures so only those foreign nationals who satisfy all eligibility requirements can receive benefits.

'This literally blew us away.'

In a fact sheet detailing the memo, the White House echoed Elon Musk's recent revelation that over two million illegal aliens were apparently assigned Social Security numbers in fiscal year 2024 alone.

Venture capitalist Antonio Gracias, who has been working with the Department of Government Efficiency in scrutinizing the SSA, noted at the Wisconsin town hall where Musk highlighted the provision of Social Security numbers to illegal aliens, "This literally blew us away," reported NewsNation.

"We went there to find fraud, and we found this by accident," said Gracias.

Migrants authorized to legally work in the U.S. are eligible to apply for a Social Security Card — but in order to receive Supplemental Security Income, the Department of Homeland Security must class them as a migrant legally admitted and conferred permanent residency, a migrant granted conditional entry or asylum, or a migrant paroled into the country or admitted as a refugee.

Gracias suggested that in recent years, migrants were given SSNs automatically through the mail without an interview or showing identification.

The White House fact sheet notes that the multitudes of illegal aliens who entered the U.S. under the Biden administration are "siphoning dollars and essential services from American citizens while state and local budgets grow increasingly strained."

The Center for Immigration Studies revealed in a December 2023 report that 54% of households headed by immigrants, including naturalized citizens, legal residents, and illegal aliens, used one or more major welfare program.

'These taxpayer-funded benefits should be only for eligible taxpayers.'

The study indicated that 48% of "illegal-headed households" used food welfare programs; 39% relied on Medicaid; 18% relied on cash welfare; and 4% relied on housing programs.

The House Committee on Homeland Security noted in a November 2023 report that the cost in federal welfare for every one million parolees released into the U.S. under the Biden administration was likely in the neighborhood of $3 billion annually.

As of 2022, American taxpayers were shelling out at least $182 billion annually to provide services and benefits to illegal aliens and their dependents, according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform report cited in the White House's fact sheet. FAIR indicated that net cost is $150.7 billion if the estimated $31 billion taxes illegal aliens cough up are factored.

The White House noted that the $182 billion figure includes $66.4 billion in federal expenses and $115.6 billion in state and local expenses. Again citing FAIR estimates, the White House noted that "a million illegal aliens hold stolen identifications or fraudulent SSNs" — abuse that has long been widespread.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday, "These taxpayer-funded benefits should be only for eligible taxpayers."

"President Biden should think about what he did in his last term, which is allow tens of millions of illegal people into our country, many of whom were fraudulently receiving these benefits."

The Social Security Administration indicated that Trump's memorandum "reinforces SSA's commitment to safeguarding taxpayer dollars and ensuring the integrity of the programs it administers."

"The Social Security Administration is dedicated to protecting the vital benefits that American workers have earned on behalf of themselves and their families," said acting SSA Commissioner Leland Dudek. "We are committed to working diligently to implement the President's memorandum and to ensure that benefits are paid only to those who should receive them."

Martin O'Malley, the SSA commissioner during Joe Biden's final year in office, told Government Executive, "This is all on brand for them, because they enjoy inflicting cruelty on people in the name of going after immigrants."

"If they go forward with this representative payee plan, they are talking about interrupting benefits that are legally owed to Americans and American-born children here in the U.S.," said O'Malley. "Just because someone might not have proof of their legal status on an SSA record doesn’t mean they aren’t the representative payee for a U.S. citizen, whether it be their husband with a disability, a mother-in-law, an American-born child."

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Trump’s Bitcoin masterstroke puts America ahead in digital assets



With a single stroke of his Sharpie, President Donald Trump instantly made the United States into the world leader in digital assets, ensuring its dominance in the sector for the foreseeable future.The new Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile are a triple win for the American people.

Win No. 1: No cost to taxpayers

The reserve comes at no expense to taxpayers. Every asset within it was already owned by the federal government, including 200,000 Bitcoin — an amount that crypto czar David Sacks recently estimated to be worth about $17.5 billion. Moreover, the executive order establishing the reserve explicitly binds the government to “budget-neutral” strategies for acquiring additional Bitcoin and forbids the acquisition of other digital assets except through forfeiture proceedings.

The United States is poised to be the world leader in digital assets for many years to come.

In other words, the crypto reserve will be funded entirely by criminals and scammers like the ones who allegedly bilked several Massachusetts residents out of their savings through a fraudulent trading platform.

Win No. 2: Boosting domestic innovation

The crypto reserve will foster domestic innovation in an industry poised to be a major driver of economic growth well into the future. American digital assets companies, like Avalanche, already play a crucial role in this ecosystem, delivering high-paying jobs and contributing to the president’s broader economic agenda.

The crypto industry’s domestic investments will reinforce the principles of putting America first, creating American jobs, and driving economic growth that are at the heart of Trump’s plan to Make America Great Again.

Win No. 3: A global statement

By publicly staking America’s claim in digital assets, Trump and his crypto team led by crypto czar David Sacks and Bo Hines, executive director of the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets, are sending a strong signal to the global crypto community: America is open for business. For an industry that has faced widespread skepticism and even open hostility from establishment forces all over the world, this invitation will be enthusiastically embraced.

Instead of building data centers and other crypto infrastructure overseas, tech companies will invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the U.S. economy, creating new jobs and broadening our tax base.

The crypto industry has come a long way since a young programmer completed the first commercial Bitcoin transaction — exchanging 10,000 BTC for two Papa John’s pizzas. Today, those Bitcoins are worth just under $1 billion — an increase of roughly two billion percent in just 15 years.

Bitcoin’s value will soar

With Bitcoin’s circulation now capped, its value is projected to continue appreciating. Unlike the U.S. dollar, which inflationary policies can devalue, no entity can create additional BTC. Other digital assets have similar built-in safeguards, ensuring that they cannot be manipulated like fiat currencies.

In many ways, cryptocurrencies and other digital assets resemble gold, real estate, and other assets that serve as a stable, long-term store of value.

Sadly, this fact has not been appreciated by those in power until now.

“At one point in time, we had about 400,000 bitcoin on the federal balance sheet. We sold roughly half of that for something like $360 million total,” Sacks disclosed recently on an episode of the "All-In Podcast."

Although the premature sales cost American taxpayers around $17 billion at today’s prices, they serve to reinforce the benefits of creating a strategic reserve of these unique assets.

Throughout recorded history, governments worldwide have recognized the necessity of maintaining strategic gold reserves. These reserves can strengthen the domestic economy or provide strategic flexibility in international relations. The new crypto reserve will likely serve a similar function in the future.

As usual, Trump is several steps ahead of the political establishment. Thanks to his visionary leadership, the United States is poised to be the world leader in digital assets for many years to come.

White Lotus Finale Shows Why Counting The Cost Of Christianity Is So Important

[rebelmouse-proxy-image https://thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-07-at-5.40.48 PM-1200x675.png crop_info="%7B%22image%22%3A%20%22https%3A//thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-07-at-5.40.48%5Cu202fPM-1200x675.png%22%7D" expand=1]Religious faithfulness will cost you something — but both Piper and Belinda conclude the cost is too high.