'Unnecessary red tape': Trump admin blames California for rise in egg prices in new lawsuit

The Trump administration has sued California and some of its top officials over state laws that restrict the way hens can be treated and the manner in which their eggs can be packaged, regarding such actions as “unnecessary red tape.”

The federal government argued in a 16-page complaint that three Golden State laws meant to restrict animal cruelty and “protect” the health of consumers are raising egg prices, and that regulating the quality and production of eggs falls under the federal domain, not California”s.

Among the contested laws are California’s Proposition 2, passed in 2008, which centers on farm animals being given adequate space to live, and AB1437, enacted in 2010, designed to ensure “the quality of eggs sold for human consumption.” The two missions go hand in hand, the state has argued, with a quality of life for hens reducing the dangers of illnesses coming from their eggs.

But the Trump administration chiefly targets Proposition 12, voted into law in 2018, which was meant to further bolster protections for farm animals and prevent against “threat[s] [to] the health and safety of California consumers.”

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President Donald Trump’s administration is unconvinced of the necessity and efficacy of certain provisions in the laws, arguing, to varying degrees, that they come at the expense of consumers and are not based on proven science.

The lawsuit’s introduction zooms out and states:

The State of California has contributed to the historic rise in egg prices by imposing unnecessary red tape on the production of eggs. Through a combination of voter initiatives, legislative enactments, and regulations, California has effectively prevented farmers across the country from using a number of agricultural production methods which were in widespread use—and which helped keep eggs affordable.

“California’s codified purpose in prohibiting the sale of eggs that are produced through various accepted animal husbandry practices is purportedly to increase the quality and fitness for human consumption of eggs and egg products sold in California,” the lawsuit continues. “But California’s egg standards do not advance consumer welfare.”

The Trump administration argues that the state bills are preempted by federal law, specifically the Egg Products Inspection Act (EPIA) of 1970, “which sets forth requirements to ensure that eggs and egg products are wholesome and properly labeled and packaged to protect the health and welfare of consumers of these products.”

The complaint points to eggs that have moved across state lines, which California focused on in AB1437, prohibiting certain eggs sold in California “even if the eggs were produced entirely outside of California,” per the complaint. The federal government maintains that the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution dictates that EPIA supersedes certain provisions in California law, and that the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California should declare certain state provisions unenforceable.

“Through EPIA, Congress exercised its authority under the Supremacy Clause to expressly preempt state or local laws which impose requirements ‘in addition to’ or ‘different from’ those contained in EPIA,” the lawsuit states. “Thus, the Supremacy Clause does not permit California to inflate egg prices by imposing additional standards that regulate the quality of eggs, and the provisions at issue here are invalid.”

These provisions bar the sale in California of eggs — including liquid eggs — that a “business owner or operator knows or should know are the product of a [chicken] who was confined in a cruel manner.” The law also prohibits claiming that eggs were produced in compliance with California’s animal cruelty laws if that’s not actually the case.

Still, too, the DOJ wants rendered invalid the provision that an egg-laying hen must be in an enclosure that allows them “to lie down, stand up, fully extend limbs, and turn around freely,” and the plaintiffs want California prohibited from enforcing these provisions.

The press office of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who was listed as a defendant in the lawsuit along with California Attorney General Rob Bonta and others, mocked the Trump administration in a social media response on Wednesday, writing, “Trump’s back to his favorite hobby: blaming California for literally everything.”

“Next up: [Gov.] Gavin Newsom caused the fall of Rome and sent the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs!” it added.

Egg prices were a major talking point on the campaign trail during the 2024 elections, with ascending costs hurting the incumbent presidential candidates ahead of the November general election. However, egg prices continued to rise after November, largely due to the H5N1 bird flu infecting large swaths of birds in the U.S.

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently announced it was ending its emergency response to the bird flu, the Trump administration – with its eyes on California – is clearly targeting other avenues for ensuring the lowering of egg prices.

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