US President Donald Trump's administration sued California officials over higher egg prices on Wednesday in a Los Angeles federal court.

"The State of California has contributed to the historic rise in egg prices by imposing unnecessary red tape on the production of eggs," the lawsuit said.

Trump has repeatedly vowed to bring down egg prices, which have soared largely due to a major bird flu outbreak. The price increases have also stoked consumer anxieties around inflation and the rising cost of living.

What else do we know about the California egg suit?

The State of California, Governor Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and other state officials were named in the lawsuit.

The Trump administration said California's regulation of chicken and egg farms and its anti-animal cruelty laws were creating "unnecessary red tape" that has raised egg prices throughout the country.

“Americans across the country have suffered the consequences of liberal policies causing massive inflation for everyday items like eggs,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi in a statement.

The lawsuit said the federal Egg Products Inspection Act of 1970 allows the US Departments of Agriculture, Health and Human Services to regulate eggs in order to protect the health and welfare of consumers. It also requires "national uniformity" in egg safety standards.

What are California's regulations for egg farms?

California has passed several laws including voter initiatives to regulate egg and chicken farms including ones that prevent farmers from packing chickens together tightly.

The laws require hens to be kept in enclosures where they can "lie down, stand up, fully extend [their] limbs, and turn around freely."

They were aimed to reduce the risk of foodborne disease and reduce animal cruelty.

The lawsuit says California can regulate farms in the state, but cannot impose these requirements on eggs from other states.

In 2014, California was sued by the six states of Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Alabama, Kentucky and Iowa over its egg regulations, but the states lost the lawsuit.

In 2023, pig farmers had sued one of the California voter initiatives from 2018 which created minimum space requirements for pigs, cows and chickens. They said it also regulated pig farmers from other states. 

The Supreme Court preserved the initiative. 

Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah