CAN OF WORMS

Maggot Menace Creates New Headache for Trump

The newly detected parasite could exacerbate already-high beef prices.

The return of a flesh-eating parasite could make already-high beef prices during the second Trump administration even worse. The discovery of two cases of the New World screwworm, a parasite that kills livestock if not treated, near the Mexican border in Texas could prove hazardous to both the beef industry and public health, as well as Trump’s presidency. “Americans run on beef. We notice the price of steaks and ground beef,” Arizona-based GOP strategist Barrett Marson told Politico. “Every time we go to the grocery store, we see that... It’s a significant part of how Americans are getting squeezed on every end.” Beef prices have already skyrocketed as a result of record-low cattle numbers resulting from inclement weather and industry consolidation. “This is something that Texans have been worrying about and have been warning Washington about for nearly two years,” said Texas Democratic congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher on Thursday. “An outbreak today will be devastating to livestock producers and drive up already high costs for beef at the grocery stores that all Americans will see.”