- It also raises questions about what the growing struggle between Means and former White House officials will bring to the movement.
Driving the news: Means told Axios he was going public with his corruption allegations — particularly those of former White House chief of staff Susie Wiles — because of the high stakes.
- “It is existential to the survival (of) America that we rid DC of Susie politics,” Means said in a text exchange.
- Means’ initial comments on Friday’s episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” went viral, and he continued the campaign with an appearance Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
- Asked if he was worried about legal action after comments from a Wiles spokesperson and former White House deputy chief of staff James Blair — whom Means also accused of wrongdoing — Means pointed to his X message warning him and other parties to “immediately preserve all potentially relevant records and communications.”
The means followed a constant stream of X-rated messages about his allegations and how he claims officials responded to them.
- “Susie, I’m not intimidated and you won’t scare me. Again, please stop sending me emotional texts. It’s not personal, it’s civilizational,” Means posted Monday.
- White House spokeswoman Allison Schuster said in a statement that the Trump administration has achieved “many victories for the MAHA program.” The Department of Health and Human Services and a spokesperson for Wiles did not respond to requests for comment.
The big picture: After joining President Trump ahead of the 2024 election, MAHA leaders have complained for months about the lack of progress on issues related to healthy foods and pesticide use.
- But it remains to be seen whether the public feud initiated by Means will have any impact on the political agenda he is pushing — or whether it will instead be a tour of personal grievances.
- A former HHS official said that after Republicans’ midterm blowout, Means “emphasizes that one of the most popular aspects of Trump’s domestic agenda should be something that (the administration) spends more time on preparing the party for 2028.”
The plot: The MAHA base considers new Chief of Staff Stephen Miller an ally, even though he hasn’t said much about the movement’s priorities like cleaning up the food supply, reducing food additives or scrutinizing vaccines.
- Miller’s wife, Katie, hosted Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on her podcast and posted photos of dishes containing ingredients like raw milk, according to the Washington Sun.
- Means told “Face the Nation” that Miller understands corporate influence on health care and represents a departure from Wiles.
- “Stephen Miller has been nothing short of a champion of Making America Healthy Again. As a father of four, Miller is keenly aware of the importance of transforming our food, health and science systems for the next generation of Americans,” Schuster said.
Zoom: Means, who resigned as a senior adviser late last month, grew up in Washington and interned at the George W. Bush White House and the Heritage Foundation before working as a consultant to the beverage and drug industries.
- He told Axios in 2024 that his mother’s preventable death from chronic illness in 2021 inspired him and his sister, “functional medicine” doctor and health influencer Casey Means, to advocate and work to reverse the chronic disease crisis. The siblings wrote a best-selling book called “Good Energy.”
- Calley Means also co-founded Truemed, a company that helps people buy wellness equipment using money from their health savings accounts, retaining an interest while advising Kennedy, according to the New York Times.
Means is widely credited with facilitating the alliance between Kennedy and President Trump in the summer of 2024 and became a special government employee in the new Trump administration.
- He made frequent, sometimes flamboyant, appearances on public forums, denouncing a “crisis of confidence” in health care institutions and asserting at an Axios event in 2025 that Kennedy “had a spiritual mandate” from voters to reform broken government institutions.
- Means’ sister was Trump’s pick to become surgeon general, but her nomination was withdrawn in April amid questions over whether she could convince enough Republican senators to be confirmed. Calley Means then blamed Senate Health Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-La.) for his delaying tactics.
What we’re looking at: It’s unclear what role Means will play outside the administration — or whether his change of heart has helped or hurt the MAHA cause.
- Key initiatives such as developing a definition of ultra-processed foods remain unfinished, and the Food and Drug Administration appears to be taking a more conciliatory stance toward drug developers and other industries it regulates.
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