The Outbreak Is Spreading

Since the USDA confirmed its first domestic screwworm case in a Zavala County, Texas calf last week, the outbreak has grown. As of June 9, according to Newsweek, five animals have tested positive: three calves and a goat in Texas, plus a dog in New Mexico.

The New Mexico case marks the first detection outside the original Texas containment zone. The parasite — eradicated from U.S. soil in 1966 — is moving.

Canada has already responded by banning imports of Texas cattle, according to Newsweek. If the outbreak widens further, cattle supplies tighten. Beef prices — already at record highs — go higher. That hits every American at the grocery store.

What Each Side Is Arguing

USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said Monday on CNBC's Squawk Box that "not much had been done" under the Biden administration to prevent a re-emergence, and argued the parasite's northward march through Central America and Mexico happened on Biden's watch. Kansas Senator Roger Marshall told Newsmax the same day: "This is another thing we can thank Joe Biden for," and suggested migrants may have helped carry the parasite northward.

Newsweek was direct on that last point: no evidence has linked human migration to the current outbreak. Scientists and agricultural authorities attribute the spread to infested animals moving north — not people.

Democrats are pushing back hard. Common Dreams reported that Senator remarks included: "This has nothing to do with Joe Biden — but Trump and DOGE definitely screwed our cattle industry."

The Facts Both Sides Are Leaving Out

The actual paper trail reveals significant context for the Trump administration's framing.

According to reporting by David Dayen at The American Prospect, cited by Common Dreams, former President Biden placed a ban on bison, horse, and cattle imports from Mexico in 2024 specifically because of screwworm risk. Trump lifted that ban in February 2025. That is a documented policy reversal made by the current administration — not inherited from the last one.

At the same time, DOGE-driven cuts targeted screwworm monitoring programs. The specifics of exactly which programs were cut, by how much, and when remain contested — but the direction of the cuts is not seriously disputed.

Rollins says the open-border movement of animals from South America through Central America is what got the parasite to the U.S. border in the first place. That timeline argument has some merit: the parasite's northward advance through Central America and into Mexico predates Trump's inauguration. Biology doesn't move on a political schedule.

But the decision to lift the import ban — made by the Trump administration in February 2025 — removed a specific barrier that was in place precisely to stop this scenario. That decision belongs to the current administration.

The Strongest Case for Rollins

Rollins can argue reasonably: if the screwworm had already crossed into northern Mexico under Biden's watch, lifting a cattle-import ban is a debatable trade policy call, not an obvious act of sabotage. Mexico's cattle industry and bilateral trade relationships create real pressure to keep that border open.

Additionally, the sterile-fly program — the only real weapon against screwworm, as we've covered previously — requires months to years to work at scale. No administration could have built that capacity overnight after the outbreak was confirmed.

What the Coverage Is Getting Wrong

Left-leaning outlets like Common Dreams are framing this almost entirely as a DOGE-caused disaster, with Biden blameless. The parasite's spread through Central America and Mexico was a years-long process that Biden's USDA clearly did not stop — they managed it with the import ban, yes, but the geographic advance continued.

Right-leaning coverage — particularly Marshall's Newsmax appearance — goes further than the evidence supports by implying human migrants are vectors. No source, scientific or governmental, has supported that claim. Stating it without evidence is irresponsible, and Newsweek to its credit said so plainly.

Newsweek's centrist coverage gets closer to the full picture than most outlets but undersells how significant the February 2025 import-ban reversal actually was as a concrete, traceable policy decision.

What Happens Next

The sterile-fly release program is underway across affected zones in Texas, per prior USDA statements. That is the only proven eradication tool. As we reported on June 10, it needs months — possibly years — to work at the scale required.

With Canada already cutting off Texas cattle imports and New Mexico now confirmed, the economic clock is ticking. Beef prices won't wait for a congressional blame hearing to resolve.

Both parties have something to answer for here. The Biden administration watched the parasite advance for years and ultimately relied on an import ban as its primary firewall. The Trump administration lifted that firewall, cut monitoring budgets, and is now pointing fingers instead of explaining those decisions.

Regular Americans are going to pay for all of it — at the meat counter.