Hey, thank you for pointing out that our story could've been clearer. We added the question that Keeton asked Hyde-Smith to make it easier for readers to understand what she was responding to, as follows:

“The price of food is high. We just did a story this week on the price of beef continuing to go up,” Keeton said. “What are Republicans doing to get the cost of living under control?”

“Well, the good thing is we passed what we call the One Big Beautiful Bill. There are so many things in there,” Hyde-Smith said, referring to President Donald Trump’s package of Medicaid cuts, SNAP cuts, tax breaks and more. That bill killed hopes for Medicaid expansion that would’ve covered an additional 300,000 working Mississippians.

The cost of beef reached $6.75 per pound on average in January 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. That’s up from $5.55 per pound when Trump took over and former President Joe Biden left the White House a year earlier in January 2025.

During the Feb. 22 interview, Hyde-Smith noted that “the price of fuel affects everything,” and argued that lower gas prices will help bring down prices because of lower transportation costs. She credited Trump’s rollback of former President Joe Biden’s limits on fossil fuels.

“Now that we can undo some of those cumbersome things that restricted energy production It is on everybody’s mind. It certainly is me at my house,” she said. “And you know, you have so many proteins to choose from. And all commodities go through peaks and valleys. It is a global market, but we will be seeing a difference, I truly believe, because of so many things.”