Calley Means, a top adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and one of the central architects of the “Make America Healthy Again” movement, has resigned from the Trump administration, according to NBC News.
In a statement, Means said he was leaving “with tremendous respect for President Trump and RFK,” calling them “two historic figures who are committed to confronting a corrupt DC bureaucracy that is doing everything possible to protect the status quo.” He posted a similar statement on X.
A person familiar with his decision told NBC News the frustration ran deeper than the statement suggests. Means had grown increasingly disillusioned with how little he could get done in Washington to advance his MAHA goals.
The Final Straw
The breaking point, the source said, was the stalled federal definition of ultraprocessed foods, one of Means’ biggest priorities. The administration teased the definition in August but has yet to release it.
Means also pointed to actions cutting directly against the MAHA agenda: Trump’s executive order boosting the domestic supply of glyphosate, the active ingredient in the weed killer Roundup, and moves at the Environmental Protection Agency that clash with Kennedy’s priorities. Trump’s EPA has weakened mercury emissions standards and rolled back drinking water limits for certain PFAS chemicals, steps the MAHA movement has largely opposed.
The friction on pesticides is not new. In June, the Supreme Court ruled that Bayer, the maker of Roundup, did not need to warn consumers about a potential cancer risk tied to its product. The Trump administration had backed Bayer in the case.
A Coalition Cracking Before The Midterms
The White House responded with thanks. “We are grateful for Calley Means’ time in the Trump Administration. He has done a fantastic job for the MAHA movement,” spokesperson Allison Schuster said in a statement.
But the frustration Means carried out the door is echoing across the movement. Earlier this month, some MAHA supporters, including former members of Kennedy’s presidential campaign, accused the Trump administration of breaking nearly every promise made to them on food, agriculture and environmental health. With less than two weeks until the midterm elections, some dissatisfied MAHA supporters have threatened to abstain from voting, and Democrats are working to make inroads with the movement in the final days of the campaign.
The movement’s central belief is that corporations hold too much influence over the food supply and the healthcare system. Many supporters, Means included, had hoped for a real crackdown on pesticides and artificial dyes, and for vaccine policy changes emphasizing what some call “medical freedom” over universal recommendations.
The Record He Leaves Behind
Means was an adviser on Kennedy’s 2024 presidential campaign and a key architect of the MAHA agenda. He joined the White House early last year as a special government employee, then moved to a full-time senior adviser role at the Health and Human Services Department after divesting from his wellness company, Truemed.
His resignation statement highlighted the wins he counts from his tenure: restricting soda purchases through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, fast-tracking research and review of psychedelics, urging food companies to voluntarily phase out certain dyes, and overhauling the federal dietary guidelines to recommend less ultraprocessed food and more protein. “More policy and cultural change has happened around these goals in the past 2 years than any time in history,” he wrote.
His departure also closes a family chapter in the administration. Trump last year nominated Means’ sister, Casey Means, for surgeon general, but her nomination stalled under scrutiny over her lack of an active medical license and past comments questioning the safety of vaccines and birth control. Trump chose a new nominee, Dr. Nicole Saphier, in April.
Just last month, at a MAHA summit in Washington, Means sounded publicly optimistic even as he acknowledged the roadblocks. “D.C. is a tough place. It’s a toxic place, and there’s a lot of complaints you can make about D.C.,” he said. “But I am more optimistic today than I’ve ever been about what I feel is my life’s work.”
That optimism did not survive October.
