Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Kansas Republican Senator Roger Marshall were called out after blaming a rise in screwworm infections in Texas cattle on former President Joe Biden—even though it was President Donald Trump's administration that cut funding for programs that track the parasite.
Earlier, the Department of Agriculture announced that a case of New World Screwworm—a flesh-eating parasitic fly—has been detected in a three-week-old calf near La Pryor, Texas, about 30 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. The discovery marks the parasite's arrival in the U.S. after it spread northward through Central America and Mexico over recent years.
New World Screwworm larvae hatch from eggs laid in open wounds and then feed on living tissue, potentially killing infected animals if they are not treated.
The pest primarily threatens livestock, raising concerns among ranchers that an outbreak could reduce cattle herds, disrupt beef production, and increase consumer prices. While screwworms can occasionally infect people and pets, such cases are uncommon, and the parasite does not pose a food safety risk.
Rollins noted in an appearance on CNBC that the parasite was once eradicated for more than 50 years but took the opportunity to blame the Biden administration for the outbreak she said is the result of an "open borders policy":
"I do want to note that under the last administration with the massive movement under the open borders policy, the cartels et cetera, border security, that's when it began to make its way back up toward America, hitting Mexico in 2023, moving its way up through Mexico in 2024."
"When we walked through the door last year... I was sworn in February 13th of 2025, they laid this all out for me and I said, 'Well, where are the sterile flies?' We've beaten it before and we've obviously got to beat it again. Not much had been done."
You can hear what she said in the video below.
During a USDA press conference, Rollins once again claimed that the outbreak "does trace back to the last administration and the open borders policy," adding:
"In 2022 was when the biological barrier in Panama, in the Darien Gap was breached. And then, of course, by the end of the last administration, the pest had reached Mexico and began moving northward."
You can hear what she said in the video below.
However, Rollins' narrative is false because previous reporting revealed that the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, eliminated funding for a Central American monitoring and containment program aimed at stopping the parasite's northward spread.
The cuts came shortly before the U.S. resumed cattle imports from Mexico, ending a temporary suspension while also removing U.S.-funded surveillance efforts that had tracked infections.
Agriculture officials and cattle industry representatives had warned for months that screwworm was advancing through Mexico and urged federal intervention, but Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said those concerns went unheeded. Miller said that "instead of using every available tool, USDA moved too slowly and relied solely on a partial solution that takes years to fully implement."
Despite these facts, Marshall stuck to the same script, telling Newsmax:
"We've been through this before. We eradicated the screwworm in 1966 but this is another thing we can thank Joe Biden for, that when millions of people came out of Central America, they brought the screwworm with them. Maybe it was on their beds. Maybe it was on their flesh as well."
Footage of Marshall's remarks were subjected to a Community Note on X that points out there is "no evidence" linking the screwworm outbreak "to human migrants crossing the US border."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Rollins and Marshall have faced heavy criticism for their remarks.
"When in doubt, blame Biden" has to be a Trump administration motto.
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