Trump wants cheaper beef. Republicans in key races warn his plan goes too far

Senate Republicans racing to keep their grip on power have beef with President Donald Trump’s latest affordability push.

A handful of Republicans in the upper chamber aren’t happy with Trump’s directive to allow hundreds of thousands of tons of foreign beef into the U.S. in a bid to lower grocery bills. It comes as Americans’ struggles with everyday affordability have erupted as a key issue for voters across the country.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who is up for re-election this cycle and is one of Trump’s top allies in the Senate, argued that beef prices are high “for a simple reason: Our cattle herd is too small.”

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“Imported beef below market prices will only put more pressure on our cattlemen,” Cotton said on X. “I have advised the President against this ill-advised action in the past and I now urge him to reconsider. We need to support our cattlemen, grow the herd, and let the market work.”

Trump last week announced on Truth Social his intent to flood the market with 300,000 metric tons of imported ground beef with a commitment that the product would be sold at 25% below current market prices over a 90-day span.

It comes as ground beef prices have soared to roughly $7 per pound, while the nation’s cattle herd earlier this year hit historic lows not seen since the 1950s, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

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Trump defended his import plan as he headed to South Carolina to stump for Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., arguing “that’s what the people want.”

“That’s what the voters want, and that’s what I want. The ranchers are great. They’re my people. I love the ranchers,” Trump said. “They’ve done a fantastic job, but they admit that we need a little help in order to get the prices down, so that’s what we’re doing.”

Neither Trump, nor the administration, has so far said which countries the ground beef would come from. But earlier this year, he signed an executive order similarly aimed at lowering beef prices by allowing an influx of 80,000 metric tons of beef trimmings from Argentina.

Republicans at the time privately fumed over the directive in a closed-door meeting in the Senate with Vice President JD Vance.

And now, Republicans running for office in America’s heartland again disagree.

“I want to lower prices, but this is a bad idea,” Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, said on X.

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Hinson is running in one of the tightest races in the country to replace retiring Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa. Cook Political Report rated the race a toss-up last week.

Other in-cycle incumbents aren’t thrilled with Trump’s push, either. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., charged, “This Hurts!,” while Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., contended that he appreciated the work to “lower grocery prices,” but warned that “short-term policy shifts do not equal long-term solutions.”

“Flooding the market with lower quality beef compromises Nebraska farmers and ranchers,” Ricketts said.

Trump’s other key Senate allies aren’t thrilled with the plan either.

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Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., said he’s advised Trump not to do this for the last year because it would harm American ranchers, “most of whom are MAGA Republicans.”

“The president’s heart is in the right place on wanting lower prices for the American people, and beef prices have been impacted by the Mexican screwworm,” Sheehy said.

The White House and the USDA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.