President Donald Trump promised to lower prices for groceries, including eggs. But one crack in his plan is that egg prices haven’t fallen since he took office on January 20.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, in her first on-camera news briefing on January 28, blamed that on former President Joe Biden’s “inflationary policies”.
Leavitt said the Biden administration and the US Agriculture Department “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’s statement is partially accurate about the culling of millions of chickens, but she omitted important details and context about why that happened.
First, the chickens were killed to prevent the spread of the highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu.
Second, it’s been longstanding USDA policy to cull an entire flock of birds once bird flu has been detected, including during Trump’s first administration.
White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly referred PolitiFact back to Leavitt’s news briefing comments.
Egg prices rose under Biden – from $1.60 per dozen in February 2021 to $4.10 in December 2024 (his first and last full months in office), Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows. The Agriculture Department’s January food price outlook said egg prices could rise about 20 percent more this year.
A spokesperson for Expana, a company that tracks consumer prices, told news outlet Axios that a dozen large eggs costs more than $7 in some US regions.
Since February 8, 2022, when the virus was detected in a commercial flock, more than 147 million birds, including chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese, have died, the USDA said.
USDA data shows 108 million egg-laying chickens died since 2022, including 13 million in 2025. It’s not clear how many were euthanised or died of the virus.
As of January 29, bird flu has also been detected in dairy cattle, affecting 944 herds in 16 states, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows. Humans have also tested positive for the virus – 67 confirmed cases have been reported in the US and one person has died, the CDC said.
Why are flocks culled?
Experts told PolitiFact the birds are culled to stop the virus from spreading. This protects not only nearby farms and the poultry industry, but public health. A 2002 federal law, the Animal Health Protection Act, gives the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service authority to depopulate herds and flocks to stop the disease’s spread.
“If the birds are dead, the virus dies along with them,” Russ Daly, a veterinarian for the South Dakota Department of Health and a South Dakota State University professor, said.
Chickens that contract the bird flu virus have little chance of survival; 90 percent to 100 percent percent of them die, usually within 48 hours, the CDC said.
Waiting for the chickens to die naturally allows more viral load into the atmosphere, making it more dangerous for the farm workers and other people who come in contact with the farm, Jada Thompson, a University of Arkansas agricultural economics and agribusiness associate professor, said.
Is this policy new?
Several veterinary professors told PolitiFact that depopulation or “stamping out” of sick birds is a longstanding policy and pointed to a 2015 bird flu outbreak during the Obama administration.
Depopulation is the USDA’s primary control and eradication strategy for avian influenza, Yuko Sato, a veterinarian and Iowa State University associate professor, said.
“This latest outbreak is devastating because of the large numbers of premises involved since 2022,” Carol Cardona, a University of Minnesota veterinary professor and chair of avian health, said. “But the rule has been there for a very long time now.”
A 2016 USDA report shows that depopulation in 2015 resulted in 50 million birds being killed.
A USDA bird flu response plan, updated in May 2017 during Trump’s first administration, incorporates policy guidance based on lessons from influenza outbreaks during the Obama and first Trump administrations. It said: “Rapid depopulation of infected poultry is critical to halt virus transmission and must be prioritised.”
During a March 2017 bird flu outbreak, a USDA report said, “nearly 253,000 birds were depopulated.”
How does depopulation work?
The USDA encourages farmers who notice signs of illness to contact the USDA or their state veterinarian. Samples taken from the animals are tested and the USDA confirms cases; depopulation usually takes place within 48 hours of the virus’s confirmation.
The USDA pays the farmers for the killed birds.
“It’s in the best interest of the farmer to get this done quickly, as the USDA provides indemnity payments for the euthanised birds, but not the ones that die naturally,” Daly said.
Our ruling
Leavitt said there’s an egg shortage because the Biden administration “directed the mass killing of more than 100 million chickens”.
During the Biden administration, more than 100 million egg-laying chickens died from bird flu or were killed to stop the virus’ spread. This led to an egg shortage and higher prices.
Depopulation is a longstanding practice to prevent bird flu from spreading, agriculture experts said. Government documents show depopulation was the USDA’s bird flu strategy during Trump’s first term and during the 2015 outbreak under Obama.
Leavitt’s statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details and context. We rate it Half True.