Calley Means, a top adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and one of the most visible leaders of the Make America Healthy Again movement, resigned from the Trump administration on Thursday. The exit lands just 12 days before the midterm elections and shakes a political alliance that helped carry Trump back to the White House.
Means, who served first as a White House adviser and later as a senior adviser at the Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement that he leaves “with tremendous respect” for President Donald Trump and Kennedy. He did not publicly explain his decision.
The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the resignation, said Means had grown frustrated with White House delays on Kennedy’s food agenda. Two priorities stalled: a federal definition of ultra-processed foods that could eventually lead to labeling rules, and a school meals regulation calling for less added sugar and more protein. People familiar with the matter said Means believed food companies and special interests held too much sway inside the administration.
Means played an outsized role in building the alliance. He arranged the 2024 phone call that led Kennedy to endorse Trump, and he became one of Kennedy’s closest outside advisers before officially joining the administration.
The resignation deepens visible cracks in the MAGA-MAHA coalition. This month, a coalition of MAHA activists released a scorecard saying the administration had failed most of its promises to restrict pesticide use, promote healthier food, and break up special interests in Washington. White House spokeswoman Allison Schuster said the administration is “grateful” for Means’ time and that he “has done a fantastic job for the MAHA movement.”
Source: The Wall Street Journal
