CHICAGO, July 11, 2025 —The Trump Administration has filed a lawsuit to stop California from enforcing an animal-welfare regulation mandating more cage space for egg-laying chickens, saying the measure did nothing for humans except raise prices to historic levels.
The suit contends that the state and its largely Democratic leadership lacked the authority to set a rule that affects egg producers located outside of California. The regulation, known as Proposition 12, requires that only eggs from chickens kept in cages large enough for the birds to turn around can be sold within the state.
The Republican administration argues that California is encroaching on the federal government’s constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce, since Prop 12 affects growers regardless of where they’re located.
"It is the prerogative of the federal government alone to regulate the quality, inspection, and packaging of eggs,” the suit asserts.
The implications of the action extend beyond California and egg production. Massachusetts has a similar limitation on what eggs can be sold in the state, and similar caging requirements for pigs and calves that are raised for veal.
The measures require that the animals be provided with roughly enough space to turn around, or more spacious pens than are currently the norm. Farmers have objected that the requirements are forcing them to reconfigure their growing areas into larger and fewer pens, an expense that won’t yield increased production.
“But California’s egg standards do not advance consumer welfare,” the federal suit asserts. It contends the state justified the new cage standards by saying the chickens would be healthier and pose less of a risk of passing along ailments to the humans who consume their eggs. But that, according to the legal action, has not proven to be the case.
Court documents blast the space requirements as “unnecessary red tape.”
The California suit names a number of state officials as co-defendants along with the state itself. They include Gov. Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and Secretary of Food & Agriculture Karen Ross.
The action is seen by many as another volley in what’s been a war of words and legal actions between Newsom’s administration and the Trump White House.
The governor has been critical of the federal government’s efforts within his state to round up and deport undocumented immigrants. Newsom and Bonta filed a lawsuit last month that seeks to halt Trump’s takeover of the California National Guard, which has traditionally answered only to the governor.
The action also directs blame for high egg prices within the nation’s most populous state on Democrats. Trump repeatedly promised to bring down the price of eggs and other food staples while campaigning for re-election.
He has not hidden a personal hatred for Newsom, a frequent critic of the administration. Newsom is also seen a possible contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Central California.
As Managing Editor for IFMA The Food Away from Home Association, Romeo is responsible for generating the group's news and feature content. He brings more than 40 years of experience in covering restaurants to the position.
Cover image courtesy: Closed Loop Project