Calley Means, a senior adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is stepping away from the Trump administration less than two weeks before the midterm elections. Means began working at HHS in early 2025 as a special government employee before moving into the permanent senior adviser role in November 2025.
On Thursday, Means announced his resignation and pointed to what he described as major victories for the Make America Healthy Again movement. His statement expressed respect for President Trump and Kennedy, while arguing that their agenda had already challenged powerful interests in Washington.
“I am resigning from the White House with tremendous respect for President Trump and Bobby Kennedy. They laid out a vision of combatting the entrenched, dark forces in DC that profit from Americans getting sick. More policy and cultural change has happened around these goals in the past 2 years than any time in history – and I know this movement is just getting started. It was an honor to advocate for MAHA moms in the administration and steer policies like Dietary Guidelines reform, psychedelic reform, removing soda from SNAP, removing food dyes, GRAS reform, and overhauling government food procurement.”
According to Politico, Means had become increasingly frustrated by delays involving MAHA priorities. The immediate flashpoint was a postponed meeting with Kennedy and White House officials concerning a definition for ultraprocessed foods. MAHA supporters want that definition to lay the groundwork for possible regulation of sweeteners and additives in the American diet.
“That was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said one of the two administration officials. “Calley’s been pushing very, very hard for this, but it’s been a very opaque process and has been just continuously stonewalled.”
That is quite a to-do list for Washington, where even defining questionable food ingredients apparently requires the right meeting, the right calendar slot, and an impressive supply of patience.
Means, a wellness entrepreneur, worked on Kennedy’s 2024 presidential campaign. The secretary credits him with helping pave the way for Kennedy’s eventual endorsement of Trump. That alliance brought thousands of MAHA voters into President Trump’s coalition and helped secure Kennedy a place in the Cabinet.
Means was involved in several early administration efforts on food policy, including revamping the dietary guidelines, encouraging some large candy and food companies to voluntarily remove artificial dyes, and restricting unhealthy drinks from food stamp coverage in 17 states. He also worked on an executive order signed by President Trump in April that directed federal agencies to increase research into psychedelic medicine. Another effort focused on expanding nutrition courses in medical schools.
Still, many MAHA supporters believed the movement lost momentum in February after President Trump signed an executive order increasing glyphosate production. Activists have long argued that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is poisoning the food supply and contributing to chronic disease. Bayer, which produces Roundup, had warned the administration that it could halt U.S. production amid lawsuits alleging the product caused cancer and concerns about regulatory uncertainty.
The administration argued that glyphosate was necessary to protect the food supply chain and cited national security concerns. That dispute captures the tension inside the MAHA agenda, which seeks aggressive changes to food policy while the administration weighs supply, industry, and security considerations.
Means leaves while publicly praising President Trump and Kennedy, but his departure also reflects the frustration surrounding a stalled MAHA priority. In Washington, the paperwork may move slowly, but the political expectations certainly do not.
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