Montana Sen. Tim Sheehy (R) said importing foreign beef would hurt American ranchers long-term, but President Donald Trump is “on the right track” with his executive orders removing industry-stifling regulations.
“I’ve been very active in conversations with the president over the past year-plus on this issue. The important thing is the American farmer and rancher — we take them for granted. We take for granted that America can literally feed ourselves and the whole world, and that’s very rare. Very few countries can do that,” Sheehy told Breitbart Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow at the 2026 Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) National Leadership Summit on Aug. 31.
“We have to be careful not to enact policies that can harm them. And using foreign beef to drive box beef prices down at the store can be a short-term fix, but long-term, that’s not going to fix the structural issue, which is we have a record-low herd size in America. So, we do incentivize ranchers to retain their cattle instead of selling them off and grow their herd. So, the recent announcement, I told the president [I was] not a fan of it,” he continued.
Sheehy said that while he does not think President Trump’s plan to temporarily allow more foreign beef imports in the U.S. was “the right move,” he understands the president is “trying to bring back down consumer prices.”
“That’s fair. But I think long-term, it’s just going to add to more challenges for our ranchers,” Sheehy said.
“So [Agriculture Secretary] Brooke Rollins made an announcement today, which I think was great, which is they’re starting to lower some of the regulatory barriers so our ranchers can get their product to market more efficiently,” he said.
On Friday, President Trump signed two executive orders allowing ranchers to process their own meat and sell it to consumers across state lines and authorizing ranchers to protect against Mexican gray wolves.
“That’s the right answer,” Sheehy said. “So I think the president is doing both things — he’s on the right track. I understand why he wants to bring in the foreign beef, although I disagree with it, but him empowering Brooke to go after the regulations that are constricting our beef supply is a long-term answer.”
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
Read the full article here