An uncomfortable description of a threatening parasite by a Trump administration official is drawing startled reactions.
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Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins spoke at an oversight hearing on Thursday about the spread of the New World Screwworm that threatens cattle ranches.
“It’s a vexing challenge that we thought we had beaten in the 1970s,” Rollins said. “You need about 400 million sterile flies per week to mate with the bad flies…the larva [of the screwworm] is what actually eats the flesh.”
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) called the confirmation of screwworm “alarming.”
Oklahoma Republican gubernatorial candidate Charles McCall noted that cattlemen across his state are “extremely nervous, and for good reason.”
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“NEW WORLD Screwworm. Totally fine,” political commentator Owen Shroyer posted on X.
The account FactPost dug up and posted a Fox News clip of Sec. Rollins saying in November that, “We have screwworm under control.”
“This is what Trump and his cabinet members ALWAYS do,” wrote Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI). “Tell you that a problem is going to resolve itself by a certain time and then hope you forget once that turns out not to be true.”
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“Did the screwworms buy a pardon from Trump?” joked writer Grant Stern.
We are treating the confirmed case of New World Screwworm in a Texas cattle ranch with the utmost seriousness and are responding aggressively alongside our state partners @TAHC.
USDA’s proactive actions bought us nearly a year to prepare, as models had projected New World… pic.twitter.com/Ws5ceLc9ew
— Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins) June 4, 2026
