Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told CNBC on Monday that the New World screwworm is a “small pest.” In the past she has called the parasite “horrifying.”
Differences in messages before and after the flesh-eating pest was detected in the United States provide clues as to how Rollins is dealing with the threat of screwworms entering its borders. It also shows how the administration is rushing to allay concerns that the parasite could push beef prices even higher amid rising inflation.
Since screwmaggots were detected in Texas last week, Rollins has taken to the airwaves to reassure Americans that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is ahead of the spread and that screwmaggots do not pose a risk to the food system. She also blamed the Biden administration for the spread, arguing that lax immigration enforcement at the southern border helped the parasite advance.
“The food supply is not at risk. This is not a virus or a disease. It’s just a small pest with larvae in the wound of a calf, for example, and it can be treated,” she told CNBC on Monday. “Under the previous administration, where there was a huge movement under border security with open border policies, cartels, etc., that’s when border security started to move back toward the United States.”
But last September, Rollins appeared on Fox News and was more candid about the threat of screwworms. She was talking about screwworms that spread north from Central America toward the United States.
“At a time when our nation’s beef supply is already at its lowest in 75 years… it’s really scary. That’s why prices are so high. We could end up with yet another phase of real compromise on getting good beef at a good price for Americans,” she said. “We have a plan and we are moving forward with the plan.”
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins testifies during a Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee hearing titled “Oversight of the U.S. Department of Agriculture” at the U.S. Capitol on June 10, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Elizabeth Franz | Reuters
And Rollins said during a Senate hearing in May 2025 that screwworms are a “serious threat” that will “devastate the livestock industry in this country.”
Rollins doubled down on the Biden administration’s condemnation during a separate Senate hearing Wednesday, insisting, “We know this development is a serious threat, but we were not caught by surprise.”
Meanwhile, Democrats pounced on Rollins and President Donald Trump over the screwworm outbreak.
“Under Donald Trump and Brooke Rollins, farmers and ranchers are suffering and consumers are struggling with record high prices,” Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Kendall Whitmer said in a statement. “President Trump’s reckless and harmful cuts and his administration’s incompetence leave the U.S. food supply vulnerable to infectious disease outbreaks and risk pushing already high beef prices even higher.”
Screw maggots were detected in the United States during a period of high inflation. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday that inflation rose 4.2% in May from a year earlier, reaching its highest level in three years.
Parasites are fly larvae that lay eggs in the wounds of animals. The larvae feed on meat and can cause severe or fatal damage to cattle. Once an infection is detected, animal movement and supply in the affected area may be restricted. Screw maggot infestations are treatable if detected early and are not a contagious disease that can be transmitted to meat.
The U.S. cattle herd is already in decline, and pests threaten to further increase beef prices.
An outbreak similar to the 1972 outbreak, which caused the most screwworm infections in the United States, could cost about $3 billion, the Dallas Fed said in a May report.
“By sickening or killing cattle, screwworms can cause beef shortages and high beef prices. This suggests that equilibrium prices may fall in the short term but rise in the medium to long term,” the report said.
As of Wednesday, six cases of screwworm have been detected in the United States in Texas and New Mexico. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is trying to stop the spread of the disease by releasing swarms of sterile flies that mate with female screwworm flies and produce unfertilized eggs. The agency has also established quarantine areas and stepped up trapping, surveillance and support operations.
For now, it’s too early to tell whether the screwworm will escalate into a full-blown infestation or whether USDA will be able to fight it off. Experts say the right containment protocols are in place, but are urging people to report any cases they may have witnessed in animals.
“We hope to contain the spread by testing all the animals in the area, providing treatment for those that need it, and releasing sterile flies to eliminate the small population in the area,” said Philip Kaufman, professor and chair of the entomology department at Texas A&M University. “What we don’t want is people not reporting. The flies continue to reproduce and increase in numbers and then it becomes a much larger infestation and it becomes more difficult.”
Rollins’ response has drawn some pushback from Republicans, including Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, but he maintains support from key Republicans.
“We are extremely grateful for the efforts led by Secretary Rollins,” said House Agriculture Committee Chairman GT Thompson (R-Pennsylvania). “We’re going to get ahead of this problem and eliminate it. The sooner the better.”
