The White House is developing a plan to address the avian flu, aiming to reduce the egg price surge that has been driven by inflation and the mass culling of chickens under the Biden administration. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett discussed the efforts on CBS’ Face the Nation, explaining that the Biden administration’s approach—killing infected chickens to curb the spread—has contributed to higher egg prices.

Hassett emphasized that the new plan, developed in collaboration with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and top experts from both the U.S. and abroad, would be presented to President Donald Trump next week. The focus is to improve biosecurity and find better ways to prevent the spread of avian flu without resorting to the mass culling of chickens.

“We’re working to establish smarter perimeter controls,” Hassett said. “The goal is to reduce the need to cull chickens in the first place, which should have been done earlier. If this plan had been in place sooner, egg prices would be lower than they are now.”

Hassett also pointed out the broader issue of inflation, which he largely attributes to former President Joe Biden’s policies. He noted that inflation, including rising egg prices, has accelerated, with the average rate of inflation across goods reaching 4.6% in recent months—far above the target rate.

Egg prices have increased by 15% since January and are up 53% from the same time last year. The cost of a dozen Large Grade A eggs is now approaching $5, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The White House has previously acknowledged that its actions to control the avian flu, including the culling of over 100 million chickens, contributed to the egg supply shortage.