For President Donald Trump, it was a brief musing to reporters on Air Force One about his plans to import beef from Argentina. For dozens of farm-state Republicans who have held their tongues as key Trump policies battered their constituents, it was the final straw.
GOP lawmakers in cattle-producing states unleashed a flurry of calls over the following days to the White House and the Agriculture Department. A small group of Republican senators, including retiring Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, cornered USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins in a private meeting less than 48 hours after the Oct. 19 comment.
This could not go on, they argued.
So far, the burst of objections has not generated a U-turn from the administration, which is going ahead with a beef import plan that Trump officials argue will both lower steak and hamburger prices for American consumers and bolster relations with a key Trump ally, Argentinian President Javier Milei.
