As meatpacking plants became Covid-19 hotspots last spring, the Trump administration tried to intervene with states’ plans to shutter them

The Trump administration tried to intervene in states’ attempts to shut down meatpacking plants as they became Covid-19 hotspots, the Food and Environment Reporting Network reports. Public records reveal that former ag secretary Sonny Perdue expressed concern about the “unintended consequences” of shutting down a large Sioux Falls, South Dakota pork processing plant, even after 450 workers had contracted the virus. The findings add fuel to the fire for critics who have accused the last administration of prioritizing profits for processors over the health of their workers. It’s a concern that hasn’t faded with the changing of the guard: The Biden administration’s hotly anticipated mandatory Covid workplace safety rules didn’t include meatpacking plant workers, either.