President Trump signed two executive orders Friday aimed at supporting American ranchers during an Oval Office ceremony, directing federal action on livestock losses caused by predators, country-of-origin labeling for beef, enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act, and processing and market access for meat producers, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
During the signing, Arizona rancher Casey Murph told Trump that Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs had offered state land his family has leased and ranched for more than 100 years to solar development companies. Murph credited Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins with intervening to stop the move, at least for now.
“A ranch on state ground that I lease, it’s been in my family for over 100 years, Katie Hobbs has offered those lands up to solar development companies,” Murph said.
“If it had not been for your secretary of agriculture, I would already be gone, sir. She’s managed to hold them off, not permanently, but if it had not been for her, I would not be a rancher anymore,” Murph told Trump, gesturing to Rollins.
Trump responded by describing what he said the land would become without the intervention: a “10 mile by 10 mile solar piece of black plastic.”
Border enforcement also discussed
Earlier in the exchange, Trump and Murph discussed border enforcement under the current administration. Trump said “zero illegal aliens have come through the Southern border in the last 14 months.” Murph responded that Hobbs was “protecting” people who should be removed, saying, “There’s a lot of them that Katie Hobbs is protecting, and we have to get those out.” Trump agreed, saying the White House has to fight Hobbs “all the time” and calling her “bad news.”
A contested race, and a case before the Supreme Court
Hobbs is running for reelection against Republican Rep. Andy Biggs (AZ-05) in this year’s gubernatorial race. This week, a separate Arizona dispute over whether voter registration must include proof of U.S. citizenship reached the U.S. Supreme Court.
Hobbs, a Democrat, chose a former Republican mayor as her running mate for lieutenant governor. During her term she has issued a record number of vetoes against Arizona’s Republican-majority legislature. She has also faced questions about a dark-money fund tied to her office, and has not disclosed its donors.
Arizona Republican Party Chairman Sergio Arellano pointed to Murph’s account in urging Arizona voters to back Biggs and his running mate in the midterms.
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