Calley Means, a prominent figure in the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement and a key adviser within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced his resignation on Thursday amid growing frustration over stalled food policy reforms. Means was recognized as a driving force behind several initiatives aimed at improving the nation’s food supply, including enhanced transparency around food additives, efforts to eliminate artificial food dyes, and a push to ban soda from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
During his tenure, Means also contributed to an executive order promoting the development of psychedelic medications, an initiative that gained visibility in part due to support from podcast host Joe Rogan. Despite these efforts, sources close to Means indicate that his attempts to define and regulate ultrapressed foods—a significant step toward addressing chronic health issues linked to diet—faced persistent obstacles within the administration.
Vani Hari, a fellow MAHA leader and health advocate, highlighted a key moment leading to Means’s departure. Hari noted that the White House’s backing of increased production of glyphosate, a pesticide the movement actively opposes, marked a clear departure from MAHA’s objectives. “It became very clear in the last few months that no progress was getting made,” she said, adding that the cyclical nature of the policy impasse took its toll.
Means rose to prominence prior to his government role through a series of podcasts where he criticized lobbying practices in the beverage industry, which he continued to view as a corrupting force in Washington. His work in the Trump administration reflects his long-standing commitment to food policy reform. He was instrumental in facilitating the alliance between President Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during the closing months of the 2024 presidential campaign—a partnership credited with bolstering Trump’s successful bid for a second term.
Following a shooting incident at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024, Means helped initiate communication between Trump and Kennedy, who subsequently joined the administration as health secretary. This coalition espoused a platform of protecting children from harmful food additives and corporate influence, which resonated with a segment of the electorate.
Under Means’s guidance, several food companies committed to removing artificial dyes and seed oils from their products. He also contributed to MAHA’s policy proposals aimed at reducing childhood chronic diseases, advancing nutrition education in medical curricula, and revising the traditional food pyramid.
Means maintained a cautious distance from Kennedy’s more controversial work on vaccine policy, preferring to concentrate on nutrition-related initiatives. His background includes co-authoring a book with his sister, Casey Means, advocating lifestyle interventions to prevent chronic disease through diet, exercise, and glucose monitoring.
Last year, President Trump nominated Casey Means for surgeon general, but her nomination was withdrawn amid insufficient Senate support. Calley Means himself held equity in Truemed, a health-focused company offering products accessible through health savings accounts, a program expanded by Trump in 2025. This ownership raised some conflict-of-interest questions during his tenure.
Known for his outspoken and combative style, both in government and on social media, Means recently expressed growing dissatisfaction with the lack of progress on regulating ultrapressed foods, which he linked to the chronic disease crisis facing millions of Americans.
In his resignation statement, Means acknowledged the challenges ahead but emphasized the progress made during his time in office. “The past two years have seen historic policy and cultural change to confront the chronic disease crisis and raise health care incentives that profit from us being sick,” he wrote. “This movement is in the first inning and just getting started.”