White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the high cost of eggs while speaking to reporters on Tuesday, saying the Biden administration contributed to the supply shortage by directing the killing of over 100 million chickens.
Leavitt held her first White House press briefing on Tuesday afternoon, when one of the reporters asked about the price of eggs skyrocketing since President Donald Trump took office.
She told reporters there is a lot of reporting that is putting the onus on the current administration for the rising cost of eggs.
"I would like to point out to each and every one of you, that in 2024, when Joe Biden was in the Oval Office or upstairs in the residence sleeping, I’m not so sure, egg prices increased 65% in this country," Leavitt said, noting that the costs of bacon, groceries and gasoline have increased because of the "inflationary" policies of the Biden administration.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt holds her first news conference at the White House on Jan. 28, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images / Getty Images)
"As far as the egg shortage, what's also contributing to that is that the Biden administration and the Department of Agriculture directed the mass killing of more than 100 million chickens, which has led to a lack of chicken supply in this country, therefore, a lack of egg supply, which is leading to the shortage," she said. "So, I will leave you with this point: This is an example of why it's so incredibly important that the Senate moves swiftly to confirm all of President Trump's nominees, including his nominee for the United States Department of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, who is already speaking with Kevin Hassett, who's leading the economic team here at the White House, on how we can address the egg shortage in this country."
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the average price of a dozen Grade A large eggs was $4.15 during the month of December, which shows an increase from $2.51 in December 2023.
One of the largest reasons for the increase is the recent bird flu outbreak.
Cases of cage-free eggs for sale at a Costco store in Florida. (Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via / Getty Images)
The Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) was either directly or indirectly responsible for killing more than 20 million egg-laying hens in the last quarter of 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported.
Some estimations indicate the average price of a dozen large eggs could be nearly $5 by the end of 2025, which would be the highest average price for a dozen eggs ever recorded.
Still, the price of eggs in California has already surpassed that, reaching nearly $9 per dozen in some areas.
Fox News Digital's Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.