OAN Staff Blake Wolf and Brooke Mallory
4:51 PM – Friday, November 7, 2025
President Donald Trump ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) to launch an investigation into the United States’ top meat-packing companies, accusing them of engaging in “collusion, price fixing, and price manipulation” to artificially inflate the price of beef.
On Friday, President Trump issued the announcement — just days after Republicans pledged to keep tackling everyday costs through legislation and legal channels. Additionally, though in Democratic stronghold states, voters also handed Democrats off-year victories after prioritizing campaigns centered on the high cost of living.
The U.S. Commander-in-Chief accuses the meat-packing companies, many of which are majority foreign-owned, of artificially inflating beef prices — noting that cattle prices have dropped while boxed beef prices have risen, calling it “fishy.”
“I have asked the DOJ to immediately begin an investigation into the Meat Packing Companies who are driving up the price of Beef through Illicit Collusion, Price Fixing, and Price Manipulation,” Trump wrote. “We will always protect our American Ranchers, and they are being blamed for what is being done by Majority Foreign Owned Meat Packers, who artificially inflate prices, and jeopardize the security of our Nation’s food supply.”
“Action must be taken immediately to protect Consumers, combat Illegal Monopolies, and ensure these Corporations are not criminally profiting at the expense of the American People. I am asking the DOJ to act expeditiously,” Trump added.
Advertisement“While Cattle Prices have dropped substantially, the price of Boxed Beef has gone up — Therefore, you know that something is ‘fishy.’ We will get to the bottom of it very quickly. If there is criminality, those people responsible will pay a steep price!”
Retail beef prices have reached record highs throughout 2025, driven by tight supplies and steady consumer demand. A multi-year drought, starting in 2020 and intensifying through 2024 in key ranching regions like Texas, Oklahoma, and the Midwest, has been the primary culprit. Ranchers have also complained about the overall consolidation of the meatpacking industry, in which Tyson Foods, Cargill, JBS USA, and National Beef Packing Company make up around 80% of the industry.
“This entire industry is highly concentrated and well beyond the level that’s normally considered a harm to the economy,” stated R-CALF USA’s CEO Bill Bullard.
Tyson, Cargill, and JBS agreed to pay $87.5 million in October to settle lawsuits in which they were accused of conspiring to inflate beef prices in the United States by decreasing supply.
“THANK YOU @POTUS for standing up for America’s farmers, ranchers, and consumers!” wrote Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins in an X post on Friday.
“For far too long, hardworking ranching families have been squeezed by massive foreign-owned meatpacking corporations manipulating prices and driving family operations out of business. These global monopolies profit while everyday Americans pay more at the grocery store and rural communities struggle to survive,” she continued.
“It’s time to put America First again in our food system. We need transparency, accountability, and a fair market that rewards those who actually raise and produce our beef — not the corporation middlemen gaming the system. Thank you, President Trump, for fighting for the heartland, for our farmers and ranchers, and for standing up to the corrupt forces that threaten our food security and American independence,” Rollins added.
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