Calley Means, top adviser to RFK Jr., resigns from Trump administration
In short
Calley Means, a senior adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and a leading figure in the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, resigned from the Trump administration on Thursday. Outlets citing people familiar with his decision said he was frustrated by stalled progress on MAHA goals, including a federal definition of ultraprocessed foods. The departure comes less than two weeks before the midterm elections.
Read the full story 2 min read
Calley Means, a senior adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and an advocate for the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, resigned from the Trump administration on Thursday. Reuters reported the news citing the Wall Street Journal. Bloomberg, the New York Times, NBC News, CNN and The Hill also reported it. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 8 ]
In a statement on X, Means said he was resigning "with tremendous respect for President Trump and Bobby Kennedy." He said they "laid out a vision of combatting the entrenched, dark forces in DC that profit from Americans getting sick," and that more policy and cultural change had happened around these goals in the past two years than at any time in history. NBC News and the Boston Globe quoted a version describing Trump and Kennedy as "two historic figures" committed to confronting a corrupt DC bureaucracy. [ 4 , 5 , 9 , 10 ]
Several outlets cited people familiar with his decision. CNN said three people told it Means had grown frustrated over delays in advancing policies central to the MAHA agenda. NBC News cited a person familiar who said the final straw was the lack of progress on a federal definition of ultraprocessed foods, which the administration teased in August but has not released. The same source pointed to Trump's executive order to boost the supply of glyphosate and to EPA actions that clashed with Kennedy's agenda. [ 5 , 8 ]
The Boston Globe quoted Vani Hari, a MAHA leader, as saying a turning point for Means came when the White House issued the glyphosate executive order. Axios said tensions between the MAHA base and the administration peaked in February after that order. [ 7 , 9 ]
The Hill reported that Means' departure, less than two weeks before the midterms, comes amid growing frustration between grassroots MAHA activists and the administration. CNN said a coalition of MAHA activists released a "scorecard" this month claiming the administration had failed most of its promises. The Hill said Means mentioned achievements including changes to the food pyramid and dietary guidelines, psychedelic medicine, removing soda from SNAP and reform of GRAS. [ 4 , 8 ]
NBC News said Means was an adviser on Kennedy's 2024 presidential campaign and joined the White House early last year as a special government employee, later moving to a full-time role at HHS after divesting from his company, Truemed. CNN said he was widely credited with introducing Kennedy to Trump. A White House spokesperson, Allison Schuster, said the administration was grateful for his time and that he had done a fantastic job for the MAHA movement. The Hill said the White House and HHS had not responded to its request for comment. [ 4 , 5 , 8 ]
Why it matters
Outlets describe the exit as a setback for the administration's food-policy agenda and a sign of discontent among MAHA supporters, who CNN says helped power Trump to the White House in 2024. The reasons given come largely from unnamed sources.
Key facts
- Calley Means resigned from the Trump administration on Thursday, where he was a senior adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]
- In a statement on X, Means said he was leaving with "tremendous respect for President Trump and Bobby Kennedy." [ 4 , 8 , 10 ]
- People familiar with his decision said he was frustrated by delays on MAHA priorities, including a federal definition of ultraprocessed foods. [ 5 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]
- The resignation came less than two weeks before the midterm elections. [ 4 , 7 ]
- A White House spokesperson, Allison Schuster, said the administration was grateful for Means' time and that he had done a fantastic job for the MAHA movement. [ 5 ]
- Reuters reported the resignation citing a Wall Street Journal report. [ 1 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Calley Means resigned from the Trump administration on Thursday. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]
- Means said in a public statement that he was leaving with tremendous respect for President Trump and Kennedy. [ 4 , 5 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]
- Means had grown frustrated by delays on MAHA policies, such as defining ultraprocessed foods, according to people familiar with the matter cited by several outlets. [ 5 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]
- The White House's executive order to increase glyphosate production upset the MAHA movement. [ 5 , 7 , 9 ]
Still unclear
- The exact reason for the resignation. Outlets attribute the frustration to unnamed people familiar with his decision; The Hill says it was reportedly so.
- Whether the White House and HHS commented. The Hill said the White House and HHS did not respond and Axios said HHS had not immediately responded, while NBC News quoted a White House spokesperson statement.
- When the federal definition of ultraprocessed foods will be released. NBC News said the administration teased a definition in August but has not released it; no document gives a date.
- What Means will do next. No document says.
- The White House spokesperson Allison Schuster thanked Means for his time in the administration. Reported by a single source so far
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Reuters published a report on the resignation, citing the Wall Street Journal. [ 1 ]
- Bloomberg reported that Means had resigned on Thursday. [ 2 ]
- NBC News published Means' statement and the White House spokesperson's response. [ 5 ]
- CNN reported the resignation, citing multiple people familiar with his decision. [ 8 ]
- TIME reported that Means said on X he was stepping down. [ 10 ]