The U.S. Justice Department, acting for President Donald Trump, filed suit in the Los Angeles federal court on 9 July seeking to block three California animal-welfare measures—Assembly Bill 1437, Proposition 2 of 2008 and Proposition 12 of 2018. The complaint names Governor Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta and other state officials, and argues that the rules governing the space afforded to egg-laying hens violate the federal Egg Products Inspection Act of 1970. Federal lawyers say the California mandates impose “unnecessary red tape” on farmers nationwide by effectively forcing all eggs sold in the state to meet cage-free standards. The administration contends that the requirements have tightened supply and pushed up prices throughout the country, and it asks the court to declare the state provisions unenforceable and to issue a permanent injunction. California officials dismissed the allegations, pointing instead to avian-influenza outbreaks and other market forces as the chief drivers of higher prices. The ballot-box measures at issue were approved by voters and have withstood prior challenges, including a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that left Proposition 12 intact and a 2014 multistate lawsuit that was rejected by lower courts. Egg costs remain elevated despite a recent retreat: the average national price fell to $4.55 a dozen in May from a record $6.23 in March but is still almost 69 percent higher than a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Producers have culled roughly 175 million birds since 2022 to contain bird flu, further complicating the dispute over how much California’s standards contribute to the bill in grocery aisles.