Trump accuses meatpackers of price-fixing as DOJ launches investigation

The Trump administration said Friday it would launch an investigation into whether major meatpacking companies are illegally influencing beef markets amid soaring prices

The Trump administration said Friday it would launch an investigation into whether major meatpacking companies are illegally influencing beef markets amid soaring prices.

In a Truth Social post, President Donald Trump said, without evidence, that the companies “are driving up the price of Beef, through Illicit Collusion, Price Fixing, and Price Manipulation.”

Minutes later, Attorney General Pam Bondi posted on X that a Justice Department investigation was “underway,” with the department’s antitrust chief, Abigail Slater, taking the lead in partnership with the Department of Agriculture.

Trump’s popularity has declined amid growing signs of a weakening economy alongside price increases for many household staples. Beef prices in particular have seen a steady climb, with ground beef hitting a record $6.32 a pound in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A wave of victories for Democrats in Tuesday’s elections was seen as a partial referendum on Trump’s failure to deliver on campaign promises to address affordability issues that had taken root under President Joe Biden.

In a statement, the president of the Meat Institute, the meat packing industry's chief lobbying group, said meat packers were not to blame for beef price increases and would "welcome a fact-based discussion" about affordability issues.