A company that owns more than 300 Wendy’s restaurants across 15 states has filed for bankruptcy, putting Trump’s beef policies on an uncomfortable menu. Meritage Hospitality Group sought Chapter 11 protection on Sept. 17 and identified rising beef costs as a major factor.

The filing said sales had been significantly hurt by reduced access to beef. Meritage pointed to reduced imports from Mexico, low cattle herd levels, and President Donald Trump’s tariffs on beef imports.

Meritage said those tariffs pushed its beef costs up 18.9% from last year. For a business built around hamburgers, that is not exactly a side dish on the expense sheet.

Federal data offers little comfort to restaurant operators or families shopping for dinner. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that ground beef reached $7.16 per pound in August, an increase of 7.9% from 2025.

At the same time, the Trump administration has sought to minimize the impact of those costs on businesses and consumers. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins offered a particularly dismissive response during a Monday appearance with far right podcaster and conspiracy theorist Benny Johnson.

“We have more people eating beef than ever before, but if it is too expensive—unlike fuel, Benny—you can eat chicken, pork, salmon, eggs,” Rollins said. “There are other sources of really good protein, and all of those prices are coming down as well.”

Rollins also claimed cheaper beef was “coming to you soon,” but she did not explain how that would happen. The administration’s answer to a company citing soaring beef costs in bankruptcy amounted to suggesting that Americans simply choose another protein.

The Democratic Party quickly ridiculed Rollins’ remarks and tied the administration’s policies to growing financial strain. DNC Deputy Executive Director Libby Schneider pointed directly at Trump’s tariffs and war with Iran.

“Trump’s reckless tariffs and war with Iran have pushed working families and farmers to the brink, as costs for everything from fuel to fertilizer skyrocket, as farmers start fall harvest, and it becomes nearly impossible to make ends meet,” Schneider said in a statement.

She added, “But what is the Trump administration doing to fix their mess? Nothing—except telling Americans to suck it up.” That criticism landed as Meritage’s bankruptcy filing provided a concrete example of a business struggling with the administration’s beef policies.

Trump had previously claimed he was confronting high beef prices through a proclamation signed in August. The proclamation allowed 660 million pounds of beef to be imported, but questions remained about what kind of meat would actually enter the country.

Eric Schlosser, author of the food safety classic “Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal,” wrote in The New York Times that the order was not bringing quality cuts of meat into the United States.

“The cuts of meat covered by Mr. Trump’s proclamation aren’t fresh sirloins, rib-eyes and filets. They’re lean beef trimmings that will be added to fattier American cuts to make ground beef. They’re small chunks of frozen meat that could have been kept in cold storage overseas for years,” Schlosser wrote.

He described the imported product as industrial meat destined mainly for hamburger production. “They are the quintessence of generic industrial meat, imported here to be subsequently processed in massive grinders that combine pieces of tens of thousands of cattle from multiple countries, mainly into fast food hamburgers.”

Schlosser also noted that the meat offered through Trump’s proclamation had an extremely troubling safety record and had caused food safety scares in other countries. That leaves Trump’s proposed response looking far less appetizing than the promise of cheaper beef might suggest.

The administration’s handling of economic issues is increasingly being viewed as out of touch by a majority of voters, including conservatives and pro MAGA Republicans. A recent Fox News poll showed Democrats holding advantages in the double digits on both the economy and food prices.

Meritage’s bankruptcy now adds more political heat to the rising cost of beef. While Trump officials tell Americans to eat something else, a company operating hundreds of Wendy’s restaurants is confronting the very costs the administration keeps trying to wave away.