Calley Means, a top adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and a leading advocate of the “Make America Healthy Again” movement, has resigned from the Trump administration.
“I am resigning from the White House with tremendous respect for President Trump and RFK – two historic figures who are committed to confronting a corrupt Washington, D.C. bureaucracy that is doing everything possible to protect the status quo,” Means said in a statement to NBC News. He posted a similar one on X.
Means was an advisor to Kennedy’s 2024 presidential campaign and a key architect of his MAHA agenda. He joined the White House early last year as a special government employee. He moved to a full-time position as a senior advisor to the Department of Health and Human Services after divesting from his wellness business, Truemed.
A person close to Means’ decision to resign said Means grew increasingly frustrated as he realized how little he could do in Washington to advance his MAHA goals.
The final straw, according to the source, was the lack of progress in implementing a federal definition of ultra-processed foods – one of Means’ biggest priorities. The administration presented a definition in August but has not yet released it.
The source also mentioned Trump’s executive order to increase the supply of the weedkiller glyphosate in the United States (glyphosate is the key ingredient in Roundup), as well as some actions by the Environmental Protection Agency that are at odds with Kennedy’s agenda.
Trump’s EPA has, for example, weakened mercury emissions standards and lowered drinking water limits for some PFAS chemicals — actions that the MAHA movement has largely opposed.
Frustrations with the lack of progress in achieving MAHA’s goals reverberated throughout the movement. Earlier this month, some supporters — including former members of Kennedy’s presidential campaign — accused the Trump administration of breaking almost every promise made to them on food, agriculture and environmental health.
With less than two weeks before the midterm elections, some disgruntled MAHA supporters have threatened to abstain from voting. Some Democrats are looking to make inroads into the movement in the final days of the campaign.
One of the central beliefs of the MAHA movement is that corporations have too much influence over the food supply and health care system. Many of his supporters, including Means, hoped to see a greater crackdown on pesticides and artificial dyes, as well as broader changes in vaccine policy that emphasize what some describe as “medical freedom” over universal recommendations.
Regarding pesticides, a particular setback for the MAHA cause came in June, when the Supreme Court ruled that Bayer, the maker of Roundup, did not need to warn consumers of a potential cancer risk associated with its product. The Trump administration supported Bayer in this matter.
Last year, President Donald Trump nominated Means’ sister, Casey Means, to serve as surgeon general, but she faced scrutiny during her confirmation hearing due to her lack of an active medical license and past comments questioning the safety of vaccines and birth control. Trump chose a new candidate, Dr. Nicole Saphier, in April.
Last month, in a talk by Means at a MAHA summit in Washington, D.C., he said he was inspired by how federal agencies had worked together to advance the MAHA program, but he also acknowledged the obstacles.
“DC is a tough place. It’s a toxic place, and there are a lot of complaints you can make about DC,” Means said. “But I am more optimistic today than I have ever been about what I see as my life’s work of evangelizing the chronic disease crisis and empowering Americans who want to be healthy to tackle the root cause of disease.”
In his statement Thursday, Means highlighted several policy victories for the MAHA movement during his tenure, including restricting purchases of soda through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), speeding up research and review of psychedelics, calling on food companies to voluntarily eliminate certain colorings, and overhauling federal dietary guidelines to recommend fewer ultra-processed foods and more protein.
“More political and cultural change has occurred around these goals in the last two years than at any other time in history,” he said.
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