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Calley Means Resigns from White House Health Adviser Role
· Confirmed
In Short: Calley Means, a top health adviser to President Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., has resigned from his position without specifying a reason.
In a statement, Means said he leaves with tremendous respect for President Trump and Kennedy, and noted that the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement is just getting started.
Means was hired as a White House adviser early in the second Trump administration and joined the White House as a special government employee early last year.
He did not elaborate on his reasons for leaving, though some administration officials told Abc45 that the final straw for Means was when a meeting between him and White House officials about defining ultraprocessed foods was postponed.
Means noted some of his accomplishments included steering policy guidelines on issues like dietary guideline reform, psychedelic reform, removing soda from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and eliminating certain food dyes.
Health activist Kelly Ryerson, a leader of American Regeneration, said she is impressed that Means completed over two years at HHS fighting the food battle, despite all of the obstacles presented by corporate interests.
At the heart of MAHA is a shared belief that the nation’s health must not be sacrificed to corporate profit, and that a preventable slide into chronic disease is a threat to America itself.
White House spokeswoman Allison Schuster said the Trump administration is grateful for Means' time and that he has done a fantastic job for the MAHA movement.
However, Means’s views on the COVID vaccine, raw milk, and fluoride have all been criticized by health care professionals.
Means’s departure suggests that the final straw for him was the postponement of a meeting about defining ultraprocessed foods, according to one administration official who spoke to Abc45.
The official said, “Calley’s been pushing very, very hard for this, but it’s been a very opaque process and has been just continuously stonewalled.”
What this adds
Calley Means's resignation marks the end of his tenure as a top health adviser to President Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., without a clear reason given.
Background
Calley Means, a top health adviser to President Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., has resigned from his position without specifying a reason.
What's confirmed
- In a statement, Means said he “leaves with tremendous respect” for President Donald Trump and Kennedy.
- Means was hired as a White House adviser early in the second Trump administration.
- “The past two years have seen historic policy and cultural change to confront the chronic disease crisis and healthcare incentives that profit from us being sick,” Means said.
- He did not elaborate Thursday on his reasons for leaving.
- Calley Means, a top advocate for the Make America Healthy Again movement, has resigned from his role a top adviser to Health Secretary Robert F.
- “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,” Means added.
- In a statement, Means did not say why he was leaving.
- He joined the White House early last year as a special government employee.
- READ MORE: RFK Jr. aide attacks U.S. health system as corrupt while running company that promotes alternatives White House spokeswoman Allison Schuster said the Trump administration is "grateful" for Means' time and "he has done a fantastic job for the MAHA movement."
- RFK, Jr., adviser Calley Means announces his resignation from the Trump administration Means’s views on the COVID vaccine, raw milk and fluoride have all been criticized by health care professionals Calley Means, co-founder of Truemed, at the Semafor World Economy Summit during the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C., on April 25, 2025.
- Kennedy Jr. announced Thursday that he was resigning from the Trump administration.
- Means, a prominent advocate for the "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) movement, announced his departure on Thursday (October 22) but did not specify a reason.
What's still developing
- Minnesota officials sued President Donald Trump’s administration in March for access to materials they said they needed to independently investigate the shootings during Trump’s […] WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump told reporters that he had “heard something about” the Department of Justice investigating allegations that Corey Lewandowski profited off his past role as an adviser at the Department of Homeland Security, after media reports of an investigation surfaced Thursday.
- Casey Means, who failed to be confirmed as surgeon general earlier this year after doubts were raised over her vaccine stance.
- Scott Kennedy: Good morning, or good afternoon, or good evening wherever you are.
- At least 4,381 people have died in the outbreak that started May 15.
- The patient had a “serious [underlying] illness that made them more susceptible to infection and complications than the general population,” the ECDC said.
- One campaigner said that "activists should brace for even more deregulation of cancer-causing pesticides, forever chemicals in water, and flavored vapes aimed at kids."
- “Shamonda virus has been circulating in animals, particularly cattle, but also sheep, goats, horses and alpacas, for many years, yet this is the first recognized human infection,” he added.
- “Until now, the Shamonda virus was considered non-transmissible to humans,” said a translated news release from the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty.