Elon Musk’s DOGE blamed after budget cuts lead to screwworm outbreak – Nine.com.au
As a flesh-eating parasite spreads across the southwest of Texas, politicians are getting into a blame game over who is responsible.
The New World screwworm fly was considered locally extinct in the US since 1966, but has been detected in two states in the past week — Texas and New Mexico.
New World screwworm larvae eat the flesh of warm-blooded animals. AP
The parasitic fly lays eggs in wounds and orifices of warm-blooded animals.
The eggs hatch into maggots which then eat the flesh of the animal, creating a painful and foul-smelling wound.
The maggots then grow into adult flies who then seek another place to lay their own eggs.
It is best known for impacting cattle, but has been known to target humans as well.
The five cases in this outbreak include three calves, a goat and a dog.
US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins laid the blame at the previous administration.
“I do think it’s important to note that under the last administration not much had been done to push back,” she said.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has blamed Joe Biden for the screwworm outbreak. AP Photo/Eric Gay
But Texas Commissioner of Agriculture Sid Miller, also a Republican, described the Trump administration’s response as “slow, bureaucratic, and incomplete”.
“For months, the screwworm has advanced rapidly through Mexico in spite of the (US Department of Agriculture’s) existing gameplan,” Miller said.
“Even though billions of sterile flies have been dispersed by USDA, the screwworm has still advanced over 1100 miles from southern Mexico to Texas, and USDA has missed an important component.
“Now that it appears the first screwworm has arrived in Texas, the consequences of that decision are now staring us in the face.”
Miller’s statement described the screwworm as “one of the most destructive livestock and wildlife pests in history”.
Democrats meanwhile have placed the blame on budget cuts from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“The screwworm monitoring program in Central America was cut by the Trump administration’s DOGE in early 2025,” Representative Jimmy Gomez said.
“Once again, this administration is desperately trying to downplay the problems they started.”
Elon Musk bragged of massive cuts to the US government under the Trump administration. Getty
Republican Senator Roger Marshall blamed not only Joe Biden, but immigrants.
“This is another thing we can thank Joe Biden for — that when millions of people came out of Central America, they brought this screwworm with them,” Marshall said.
“It was on their pets, maybe on their flesh as well.”
Canada has stopped important cattle and horses from Texas after the outbreak, though the flies prefer warmer weather.
The US Department of Agriculture is working on a plan to release sterile male flies into the wild to stop the spread of the parasite.
But that plan will likely take months to take hold.
Texas is a major cattle state in the US. AP
In that time, there is potential for a wider outbreak to lead to the deaths of countless cattle.
A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas estimated the screwworm could cost the cattle industry billions of dollars.
Already the US beef industry is at a low point, with the number of cattle at decades-long lows.
A shortage of domestic beef would likely lead to more beef being imported from Australia.
While the screwworm does not pose a threat to Australia, it is possible beef prices will rise here as a result.
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