Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Warns of ‘Perfect Storm’ Behind Ground Beef Possibly Soaring to $10 a Pound
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday sounded the alarm over skyrocketing food prices, pointing to a “perfect storm” of inherited problems and new agricultural threats that could push ground beef to $10 a pound by next fall.
Appearing on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, Bessent responded to dire warnings from Omaha Steaks CEO Nate Rempe, who predicted that ground beef could spike by nearly 60% within a year and remain elevated through 2027.
Bessent attributed the surge to multiple factors, including economic mismanagement under the Biden administration and the spread of a dangerous livestock parasite known as the New World screwworm, which recently reemerged in Mexico.
“This is the perfect storm — again, something we inherited,” Bessent said. “We’re not going to let that get into our supply chain.”
To contain the risk, the Trump administration in May suspended livestock imports from Mexico. The screwworm outbreak is believed to have worsened due to reduced sterile fly production during the pandemic, disrupting a decades-long joint containment program with the U.S.
Bessent emphasized that the administration is actively working to relieve food inflation pressures. Last week, the White House eased tariffs on key imports such as beef, coffee, tropical fruits, and other essential food products. He also cited the broader tax relief and purchasing power boosts contained in the One Big Beautiful Bill, formally called the Working Families Tax Cut Act.
“We are flattening it out. I believe we’re going to push it down,” Bessent said. “Energy prices are down. Interest rates are down. And with the One Big Beautiful Bill, real purchasing power is going to rise.”
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett echoed the message during a separate appearance on ABC’s This Week, disputing media criticism of Trump’s claims that Thanksgiving prices had dropped 25%. While that figure was based on a scaled-down Walmart holiday package, Hassett defended the administration’s affordability push and argued inflation has fallen sharply from its Biden-era highs.
“Inflation is about half what it was in December,” Hassett said. “Sure, you could find a few things where the price is higher, but there’s a whole bunch of stuff where the price is lower — like gasoline, like mortgage rates.”
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis reported that ground beef averaged $6.32 a pound in September, up from $5.67 a year earlier. Rempe warned that continued supply-chain strain, combined with the screwworm threat and cattle cycle disruption, could drive prices above $10 in 2025.
Bessent said the root causes of the issue stretch back years but that the administration is confident it can reverse course. “We’re going to see the inflation curve bend down and the real income curve accelerate,” he said.
He criticized the Biden administration for what he called tone-deaf messaging. “What we’re not going to do is tell the American people they don’t know how they’re feeling — which is what the Biden administration did.”
In addition to easing tariffs, the One Big Beautiful Bill also slashes taxes on tips and overtime pay and establishes new “Trump Accounts” for children born between 2025 and 2028, with each account seeded with $1,000 in government funds.
The administration is also floating a $2,000 tariff dividend proposal for working families, contingent on legal and congressional approval. “Everything is on the table,” Bessent said. “That would be for working families. We will have an income limit.”
Cost-of-living concerns have emerged as a defining issue ahead of the 2026 midterms. After a strong Democratic showing in this month’s off-year elections, Trump advisers are signaling a renewed focus on affordability and pocketbook issues.
Bessent concluded by saying the administration expects real economic momentum to kick in early next year. “I think we are going to see a substantial acceleration in the economy in the first, second quarter,” he said. “We’re already bending that curve down.”