USDA Secretary Rollins and Texas Agriculture Commissioner Clash Over New World Screwworm Response

A public feud has erupted between USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins and Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller over the federal response to a New World Screwworm outbreak first detected in Texas last Wednesday. Miller, a longtime Trump ally who lost his March Republican primary despite receiving the president's endorsement, accused the USDA of moving too slowly and relying on an incomplete solution. He specifically called for the deployment of the Screwworm Adult Suppression System (SWASS), a 1970s-era method combining insecticides with sterile flies, while the USDA is currently deploying only sterile flies. Rollins dismissed Miller's concerns at a Monday press conference, calling him 'unserious' and noting he has 'just a few months left' in office, and earlier on CNBC described his comments as 'crazy ideas.' Miller also warned that ranchers might not report infestations out of fear of government-imposed quarantines, a claim Rollins called 'very dangerous.' The screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite eradicated from the U.S. in the 1960s, spreads via fly larvae that consume animal tissue and can be deadly to cattle if untreated. The outbreak poses a significant threat to the U.S. cattle supply at a time when the herd is already historically thin and beef prices remain elevated.