Calley Means resigned Thursday as a senior adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., following reported frustration with delays in the Trump administration’s food-policy agenda.
Means announced his departure in a post on X, writing, “I am resigning from the White House with tremendous respect for President Trump and Bobby Kennedy.” He did not state a reason for leaving in that post.
Deferred Food Initiatives
A postponed meeting on a federal definition for ultraprocessed foods reportedly contributed to Means’s decision. The administration also deferred plans to set school-meal requirements for less added sugar and more protein.
Means reportedly voiced concerns about special-interest influence and advocated for Make America Healthy Again supporters as administration priorities were delayed.
Role in MAHA Agenda
Means worked on changes to federal dietary guidelines, psychedelic-medicine research, efforts to remove soda from SNAP benefits, and reforms to food-ingredient rules. He also helped build the political relationship between Kennedy and President Donald Trump during the 2024 campaign.
During his time in the administration, officials advanced revised dietary guidelines, a voluntary phaseout of certain petroleum-based food dyes, and an executive order supporting psychedelic-medicine research.
Means’s resignation came less than two weeks before the midterm elections. His sister, Casey Means, was nominated for surgeon general but did not receive enough support for confirmation.