For the second time this year, a federal court has rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to gut a state law protecting animals from extreme confinement—and it wasn't even close.
On October 7, 2026, US District Court Judge Jane M. Beckering dismissed the Department of Justice’s challenge to Michigan’s cage-free egg law, ruling that the federal government failed to prove it had been harmed by the law. The DOJ couldn’t clear the most basic legal hurdle required to bring a case to trial.
This follows the March dismissal of the DOJ’s challenge to California’s Proposition 12, making the federal government 0-for-2 in its campaign against state cage-free laws. Both times, judges appointed by presidents of both parties found the same thing: the government had no standing to sue.
Blaming animals for egg prices
Michigan’s cage-free law—Public Act 132 of 2019—took full effect at the end of 2024. It requires that egg-laying hens be housed in cage-free environments and bans the sale of eggs from caged hens in the state. These are basic, common-sense standards: hens must be able to walk, spread their wings, and lay their eggs in nest boxes.
When the DOJ filed suit in January 2026, it claimed the law was preempted by the federal Egg Products Inspection Act and blamed cage-free requirements for driving up egg prices across the country.
That argument doesn’t hold up for multiple reasons. Economists and agricultural experts have consistently pointed to devastating outbreaks of avian influenza—not state animal protection laws—as the primary driver behind egg price spikes. The USDA’s own data shows that avian flu decimated poultry flocks across the country, causing severe market shortages. By scapegoating laws that protect animals from the cruelest forms of confinement, the administration is deflecting from the real causes of market volatility. And at the same time, it’s trying to strip away legal protections that Michigan’s legislature passed and millions of people support.
The government couldn’t prove harm
Just as in the California case, the dismissal came down to standing, which is a foundational legal requirement that a plaintiff must prove it has suffered a concrete, real injury that a court ruling can fix.
Judge Beckering was clear in her ruling: “The mere existence of a state law that is preempted—and therefore invalid—does not itself injure Plaintiff.” The court found that Michigan’s enforcement of its cage-free law, without more, did not establish the kind of concrete injury the government needed to move forward.
In plain terms, the DOJ wasn’t even able to show that this law hurt the federal government in any real, measurable way. The court didn’t need to rule on whether Michigan’s law is valid. It stopped the case before it could get that far.
The DOJ now has 60 days to appeal the judge’s decision.
What this means for hens
Behind the legal arguments are millions of living, feeling animals. Michigan is home to more than 15 million egg-laying hens. Before this law, many of those hens were confined in battery cages so small they couldn’t spread their wings. They were forced to spend their entire lives with less floor space, per bird, than a standard sheet of paper.
Michigan’s cage-free law changed that. It ensures hens have space to move, to engage in natural behaviors that are fundamental to their well-being. When the DOJ attacks these protections, it isn’t fighting “red tape.” It’s attempting to send millions of animals back into debilitating cages.
The fight is playing out in Congress
Two courtroom victories are worth celebrating. But the administration isn’t relying on the courts alone. The same goal the DOJ has pursued through lawsuits—dismantling state animal protection laws—is also being pursued through Congress.
Section 12006 of the House-passed Farm Bill would do what the courts have refused to do: override state laws that protect animals from extreme confinement. An analysis by Harvard Law School’s Animal Law and Policy Program found that this provision could jeopardize more than 600 state laws and regulations. If this language makes it into the final bill, it could wipe out protections in 15 states overnight, affecting billions of animals and undoing years of progress that people across the country fought hard to achieve.
The good news: the Senate’s version of the Farm Bill currently does not include this dangerous provision. But as the House and Senate work to reconcile their versions, the threat remains real.
You have the power to stop this. Tell your legislators to reject any Farm Bill that includes provisions to destroy state animal protection laws. Your voice helped pass these protections—and your voice can defend them.
The courts have spoken. Now it’s time for Congress to listen.
