For years, a handful of powerful corporations have wielded control over the nation’s food supply, with small farmers and ranchers being hit the hardest.
Now, the Trump administration says it is finally taking action.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins tells Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck that president Trump “will arguably go down in history as the most pro-rancher, pro-farmer president in American history.”
And under this administration, Rollins explains that officials are fighting “decades of massive consolidation in agriculture, offshoring of our food supply in agriculture, the loss of hundreds of thousands of farms and ranches.”
“There is no national security, there is no freedom, unless we can feed and fuel ourselves,” she adds.
And Glenn, who operates a ranch himself, is no stranger to this struggle.
“I’ve got to go to Denver to sell my cows. I can’t get them processed, really, in my state because I don’t process enough meat. … People can’t go and process their beef in our state and then sell them to the local grocery store,” he explains.
“Which, you know, I don’t understand the people on the left. They’re for these big huge conglomerates. And then on top of it, they understand farm to table,” he says. “How do they not understand that same concept with beef and chicken?”
Glenn also points out that “85% or almost 90% of all beef is processed through these big four.”
“It was not like that 20 years ago. It’s never been like this. This is a massive monopoly,” he says, before asking, “Are you going to make it easier for people to be able to build processing plants in their own states and get state inspections?”
“Yes,” Rollins answers.
“What we have done over the last year is really invested in small and midsize packing. So that a co-op, a group of farmer-owned — we’ve got some great examples of this, by the way, around the country that are building this out with the help of USDA grants and loans,” Rollins says.
“And there is an opportunity here. … A few weeks ago, Tyson announced the closure of three of their plants. They’re shifting a lot of their processing. … That opens up, Glenn, about 20% of the market for smaller and midsize companies to come in. American-owned, to rebuild and to catch some of that market that is now opening up,” she continues.
“So as tough as that decision was, that announcement was — I actually think the long-term implications are very positive for this industry,” she adds.
To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
Just over a year after President Donald Trump’s administration instructed the federal government to cancel several media outlet subscriptions, Politico announced that it is sunsetting one of its news brands.
The federal government spent over $8 million in 2024 on Politico-related subscriptions.
‘The government shouldn’t subsidize poor journalism.’
In Feb. 2025, the White House directed the General Services Administration to “pull all contracts” for Politico and its stand-alone energy and environment brand, E&E News. Other government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Veterans Affairs, also canceled their subscriptions to Politico’s services.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced last year that he had terminated over $1 million in annual media subscriptions, including nearly $460,000 for the EPA’s membership to Politico and E&E News.
“Best $458,919 we ever saved on behalf of taxpayers,” an EPA spokesperson told Blaze News. “The government shouldn’t subsidize poor journalism, and it’s a stinging indictment of the previous administration that they wasted so many hard-earned American tax dollars keeping this outlet afloat.”
Politico pushed back against criticism that the federal government was subsidizing the media through subscriptions. The outlet released a statement in 2025 insisting that it has “never received any government funding” in the form of subsidies, grants, or “handouts.” It noted that “most” of Politico Pro and E&E News subscribers are in the private sector.
Despite insisting that Politico has “no financial dependence on the government,” the outlet laid off 3% of its staff, including E&E News journalists, in Jan. 2026, according to Semafor.
Politico acquired E&E News in Dec. 2020, aiming to “reach a large new audience of subscribers.” Yet, approximately 16 months after the Trump administration began canceling media subscriptions, Politico announced it is closing the stand-alone brand.
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Politico framed the sunsetting of E&E News as a strategic restructuring move that consolidated its U.S. Politico Energy and E&E teams “into a single powerhouse.” The announcement did not mention any revenue pressure, but framed the changes as a “new chapter.”
“Beginning in September, we are modernizing how we deliver our energy and environmental policy journalism and launching a more focused, high-impact portfolio of daily news and intelligence products,” Politico wrote.
“As part of this shift, E&E News will no longer operate as a separate brand. Its journalism and expertise will be fully integrated into POLITICO’s energy and environment portfolio of stories, briefs, analysis, and newsletters,” it continued.
Politico did not respond to a request for comment.
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A threat to livestock has re-emerged in South Texas and has prompted a significant response from state officials and food safety authorities in the Trump administration.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture flagged a potential South Texas case of New World screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite that is considered a real threat to livestock.
'These eggs hatch into dangerous parasitic larvae, or maggots, which burrow or "screw" into flesh with sharp mouth hooks.'
The USDA confirmed that a sample has been taken to the USDA's National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, lowa, for "confirmatory testing."
The agency confirmed that it is monitoring the situation on the ground in coordination with local partners.
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The New World screwworm fly is a "devastating pest" whose larvae feed on the living tissue of warm-blooded animals, according to a USDA fact sheet available on a website page dedicated to screwworm information. A screwworm is roughly the size of a common house fly.
New World screwworm "flies lay eggs in open wounds or orifices of live tissue. These eggs hatch into dangerous parasitic larvae, or maggots, which burrow or 'screw' into flesh with sharp mouth hooks. NWS primarily infest livestock, but can also affect any warm-blooded animal, including wildlife, pets, humans, and birds," according to a Texas Animal Health Commission document.
The screwworm fly thrives in warm, humid environments, making the national spread of screwworm unlikely.
On Wednesday night, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced that the tests at the laboratory in Iowa confirmed the detection of New World screwworm. She added that it was found in a "3 week old bovine in Zavala County, Texas."
In another post, Rollins assured the public that "our food supply is 100% safe. This potential New World Screwworm detection is being fully contained and is not a harm to the American food supply or consumer safety."
She added that a return of the parasite was expected last year, according to available predictions: "All models showed NWS coming to the U.S. last summer/early fall — so a big thank you to our partners across the industry and local, state and the entire Trump administration for unprecedented action that gave us almost an extra year to prepare for this moment."
The extra time bought by those monitoring the situation may prove crucial in an already precarious moment for the beef industry.
According to an analysis of the USDA's annual report on U.S. cattle inventory released on January 30, 2026, the cattle herd stands at 86.2 million head, its lowest point in 75 years. Beef prices have already been on the rise month over month for the past year with little relief in sight, and any drop in supply could drive them even higher.
Rollins encouraged all farmers to follow movement restrictions and treatment guidance provided by the Texas Animal Health Commission.
The Texas Animal Health Commission published a press release on Wednesday, stating that the agency has been preparing for a resurgence of NWS cases for "over two years" since "northward progression from Central America was observed in 2023."
The U.S. government has historically had success eradicating the parasite and continuously pushing cases farther southward. The USDA, in fact, "declared the United States free of indigenous screwworms as early as 1966," despite a severe outbreak with 90,000 cases in Texas alone by 1972.
The best method of stopping the spread of NWS is the mass release of sterile flies into the region in which cases are found. Flies are sterilized by being irradiated with gamma rays before being released into the area.
In April, the USDA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers broke ground on an $8.5 million sterile fly production facility at Moore Air Base in Edinburg, Texas. The initial facility is expected to be operational late 2027 with the production of 100 million sterile flies per week. The project will be scaled further to increase the production to 300 million flies per week in an effort to bolster the United States' domestic strategy against the screwworm.
Rollins reportedly called the response an "all of Trump administration effort," according to CNN.
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Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists have discovered hundreds of hatching eggs that could be carrying infectious diseases packed in layers of foam, according to a press release obtained exclusively by Blaze News.
The 337 eggs, incorrectly manifested as “winter jackets,” were shipped from Germany and headed to Alaska. CBP revealed that the items, seized on May 27, lacked proper documentation.
‘These interceptions highlight the vigilance and dedication our CBP agriculture specialists demonstrate daily.’
“Hatching eggs include all avian species, including poultry, game birds, racing pigeons, and other birds,” the CBP reported.
“These live eggs are shipped to the United States for hatching or reproductive purposes. Upon arrival, the eggs would be incubated, hatched, and raised,” the CBP continued. “For agricultural purposes, hatching eggs fall under regulations for live animals and are highly regulated because they can carry Newcastle disease and avian influenza.”
The eggs were seized and turned over to the local U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The CBP noted that the USDA does not allow the importation of hatching eggs from countries that have highly pathogenic avian influenza.
The department warned that such unauthorized shipments risk spreading diseases that could impact the U.S. food supply.
Since the start of an avian influenza outbreak in Feb. 2022, nearly 207 million birds in the U.S. have been affected, according to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Outbreaks have occurred in over 2,000 flocks in all 50 states and one territory.
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“Our nation’s food supply is constantly at risk from diseases not known to occur in the United States,” stated Eric Zizelman, the port director for the Port of Cincinnati. “These interceptions highlight the vigilance and dedication our CBP agriculture specialists demonstrate daily. Our specialists mitigate the threat of non-native pests, diseases, and contaminants entering the United States. They ensure the United States is safe from harmful diseases that could affect our food supply.”
CBP encouraged international travelers to declare all items acquired abroad and advised those who wish to bring plant and animal materials or other agricultural items to first consult the CBP Information Center section on the agency’s website.
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Whatever the administration's real actions turn out to be, somewhere past the sixty day mark when these orders might turn into policies, Congress continues to just sit there like a speed bump.
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The problem isn't just welfare fraud. It's all the hundreds of billions of dollars in welfare itself, starting with food stamps.
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The reorganization is debatable, and its effects have yet to be seen, but the Forest Service isn't being 'gutted.' It's being reorganized.
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