California's Proposition 12, an animal welfare law, is being targeted by the Trump administration in a bid to reduce egg prices.

In California, eggs are more expensive due to a combination of factors including higher production costs, bird flu and the requirement that eggs be raised in a cage-free system. In January, a dozen eggs in California cost nearly $9, up about 70% since the previous month.

Soaring egg prices have consumers boiling, and on Wednesday, the United States Department of Agriculture blamed rising costs on the bird flu epidemic and said it will take new steps to quell the outbreak.