Q: egg prices skyrocketed? Leavitt: Biden egg prices up 65%, Biden Dept of Agr killing 100M chickens

Egg Question

“Christian Day talk. Thanks Caroline. Just real quick. You mentioned the inflation executable for the president signed but a crisis of skyrocketed since President Trump took office. So what specifically is he doing to lower those costs for Americans?”

Christian Datoc (Washington Examiner):

• Inflation executive order reference
• Egg prices skyrocketed
• Trump blamed framework
• What lowering costs?

The implicit framework:

• Trump responsible for current prices
• Recent increase
• Should be fixing immediately
• Trump failure framework

Leavitt’s Reality Check

“Really glad you brought this up because there is a lot of reporting out there that is putting the onus on this White House for the increased cost of eggs.”

Leavitt’s framework:

• Glad brought up
• Media reporting framework
• Onus on White House
• Trump blamed wrongly

Biden 65% Increase

“I would like to point out to each and every one of you that in 2024 when Joe Biden was in the Oval Office or upstairs in the resident sleeping, I’m not so sure, egg prices increased 65% in this country.”

The framework:

• 2024 specifically
• Biden’s watch
• Oval Office or residence
• “Sleeping” joke
• 65% increase documented

The “sleeping” framework:

• Biden’s late career
• Various reports of low energy
• Short working hours
• Residence time
• Accountability framework

All Prices Framework

“We also have seen the cost of everything, not just eggs. Bacon, groceries, gasoline have increased because of the inflationary policies of the last administration.”

Leavitt’s comprehensive framework:

• Bacon
• Groceries
• Gasoline
• Everything
• Inflationary policies

The framework:

• Biden causing
• Not Trump
• Comprehensive framework
• Structural problem
• Trump inheriting

Chicken Mass Killing

“As far as the egg shortage, what’s also contributing to that is that the Biden administration in the Department of Agriculture directed the mass killing of more than 100 million chickens which has led to a lack of chicken supply in this country, therefore a lack of egg supply which is leading to the shortage.”

The specific cause:

• Biden USDA directed
• 100+ million chickens killed
• Supply chain impact
• Chicken shortage
• Egg shortage result
• Direct causation

The context:

• Avian flu (H5N1)
• Infected flocks
• Slaughter requirement
• USDA decisions
• Industry impact

Brooke Rollins Urgency

“So I will leave you with this point. This is an example of why it’s so incredibly important that the Senate moves swiftly to confirm all of President Trump’s nominees, including his nominee for the United States Department of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins.”

The framework:

• Nominee confirmations urgent
• Rollins USDA framework
• Egg shortage response
• Leadership needed

Brooke Rollins:

• USDA Secretary nominee
• Texas Public Policy Foundation
• America First Policy Institute
• Trump ally
• Rural/agricultural background

Hassett Economic Team

“Who is already speaking with Kevin Hassett, who is leading the economic team here at the White House on how we can address the egg shortage in this country.”

Kevin Hassett:

• Council of Economic Advisers head
• First-term economic adviser
• Harvard trained economist
• Trump loyalist
• Leading economic team

The coordination:

• Rollins + Hassett
• Economic framework
• Egg shortage specifically
• Pre-confirmation engagement
• Ready to act

Costs Saved Framework

“As for costs, I laid out the plethora of ways that President Trump has addressed saving costs for the American people over the past week.”

Leavitt’s framework:

• Plethora of ways
• Past week
• Cost savings
• Previously addressed

“He looks forward to continuing that in the days ahead.”

Forward framework:

• Continuation
• Days ahead
• Commitment
• Ongoing

Iron Dome Question

“One more border question. Are many gate portals down in all 50 states? The President had directed that the United States will build this iron dome. When you read into the executive order, it seemed short of that. It asked for a series of studies and reports back to them. Can you tell us whether the President has directed this?”

The Iron Dome framework questions:

• Portal availability?
• Iron Dome executive order
• Studies vs direct construction
• Short of direct?
• Reports framework

OMB Pause

“And if he is just concerned on this issue, why the suspensions that we saw listed by OMB included so many different nuclear programs, non-proliferation programs, programs to blend down nuclear weapons and so forth?”

The specific concerns:

• Nuclear programs
• Non-proliferation
• Blend down nuclear weapons
• Many programs
• OMB pause including

Iron Dome Response

“First of all, when it comes to the iron dome, the executive order directed the implementation of an iron dome. It also, as you said, directed research and studies to see how the United States can go about doing this, particularly the Department of Defense.”

Leavitt’s framework:

• Implementation directed
• Research AND studies
• DOD particularly
• Comprehensive framework

The framework:

• Not just studies
• Implementation ordered
• Research to determine how
• Two-track framework

Pause Not Ban

“When it comes to the other question that you asked about those specific programs, again, I would say this is not a ban. This is a temporary pause and a freeze to ensure that all of the money going out from Washington, D.C., is in line with the President’s agenda.”

The framework:

• Not ban
• Temporary pause
• Freeze
• Alignment check
• Trump agenda consistency

OMB Updates

“And as the Office of Management and Budget has updates on what will be kick-started once again, I will provide those to you.”

The framework:

• OMB review ongoing
• Programs will restart
• Kick-started again
• Updates provided
• Transparency

Medicaid Clarification

“You should clarify for a second what you were saying before on Medicaid. It wasn’t clear to me whether you were saying that no Medicaid would be cut off.”

The reporter’s question:

• Medicaid cuts?
• Previous answer unclear
• Individual impact?
• Clarification needed

“Obviously, a lot of this goes to states before it goes to individuals and so forth. So are you guaranteeing here that no individual now on Medicaid would see a cut off because of the pause?”

The framework:

• Medicaid goes to states first
• Then individuals
• State administration
• Individual impact
• Guarantee sought

”Check Back”

“I’ll check back on that and get back to you.”

Leavitt’s framework:

• Check back
• Get back
• Not guarantee immediately
• Research needed
• Honest framework

Egg Shortage Context

The avian flu context:

• H5N1 bird flu
• Multiple outbreaks
• Industrial poultry
• Infected flocks
• Slaughter required

USDA decisions:

• Biden administration
• Industry coordination
• Slaughter orders
• Supply disruption
• Egg shortage result

The 100 million+ chickens:

• 2022-2024 combined
• Various farms
• Nationwide impact
• Egg production collapse
• Price surge

Egg Prices Chronology

2023:

• Egg prices increased
• Avian flu driving
• Various price swings
• Regional variations

2024:

• Further price increases
• 65% per Leavitt
• Consumer burden
• Political issue

2025 (Trump era):

• Continuing high
• Shortage persistent
• Blame attempts on Trump
• But inherited framework

Brooke Rollins USDA Path

Rollins’s confirmation:

• Senate Agriculture Committee
• Bipartisan support likely
• Rural issues
• Industry priorities

First priorities:

• Egg shortage response
• Farm bill
• Trade framework
• SNAP program
• Various

Medicaid Framework

Medicaid framework:

• Federal-state partnership
• Federal funding
• State administration
• Various programs
• Various populations

The pause concern:

• Federal dollars flowing
• States receive
• Individuals benefit
• Pause implications
• Cascading effects

Iron Dome Framework

Iron Dome context:

• Israel framework
• U.S. comprehensive version
• Technology framework
• Multi-layer systems
• Strategic

The Trump executive order:

• Construction initiated
• Research directed
• DOD coordinating
• Multi-year framework
• Major investment

OMB Nuclear Program Context

The OMB pause concerns:

• Nuclear nonproliferation
• Weapons blending
• Dismantlement
• Threat reduction
• Various programs

The framework:

• Accidentally included?
• Intentional review?
• National security impact?
• Temporary only?
• Alignment check

Inflation Context

Biden-era inflation:

• 9.1% peak 2022
• Food inflation persistent
• Egg prices particularly
• Transportation costs
• Housing framework

The causes:

• Monetary policy
• Spending surge
• Supply chain issues
• Energy prices
• Various factors

Trump Cost Framework

Trump’s cost reduction approach:

• Energy deregulation
• Tariff leverage
• Regulatory rollback
• Deportation (housing)
• Fiscal discipline

The expected impact:

• Months to realize
• Not immediate
• Structural framework
• Long-term benefit

Significance

The Leavitt briefing captured:

1. Egg prices framework: 65% Biden, 100M chickens killed
2. Rollins urgency: Confirmation framework
3. Iron Dome: Implementation + research
4. OMB pause: Nuclear programs temporarily
5. Medicaid: Clarification pending

The “65% under Biden” framework represents devastating counter-narrative. Media blaming Trump for inherited problem, Leavitt pointing to Biden record.

The 100 million chicken killing framework provides structural explanation. Not just demand, supply disrupted by Biden USDA decisions. Causation clear.

The Rollins urgency framework connects confirmation delays to specific consumer impacts. Delayed Agriculture Secretary = delayed egg shortage response.

The Iron Dome framework combines implementation with research. Not just pie-in-sky but concrete construction AND feasibility study.

Key Takeaways

• Christian Datoc question: “You mentioned the inflation executive order the President signed but egg prices have skyrocketed since President Trump took office. So what specifically is he doing to lower those costs for Americans?”
• Leavitt on Biden egg prices: “In 2024 when Joe Biden was in the Oval Office or upstairs in the residence sleeping, I’m not so sure, egg prices increased 65% in this country. We also have seen the cost of everything, not just eggs, bacon, groceries, gasoline have increased because of the inflationary policies of the last administration.”
• Leavitt on chicken killing: “The Biden administration in the Department of Agriculture directed the mass killing of more than 100 million chickens which has led to a lack of chicken supply in this country, therefore a lack of egg supply which is leading to the shortage.”
• Leavitt on Rollins urgency: “This is an example of why it’s so incredibly important that the Senate moves swiftly to confirm all of President Trump’s nominees, including his nominee for the United States Department of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, who is already speaking with Kevin Hassett.”
• Leavitt on Iron Dome: “The executive order directed the implementation of an iron dome. It also, as you said, directed research and studies to see how the United States can go about doing this, particularly the Department of Defense.”