MAHA adviser who introduced RFK Jr. to Trump quits admin amid frustrations over food policy

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Calley Means, a prominent figure in the “Make America Healthy Again” movement, resigned from his position as a senior Trump health official on Thursday over frustrations with the government’s progress tackling chronic disease, according to multiple people familiar with his decision.

Means confirmed his departure in a statement, that he is resigning “with tremendous respect for President Trump and Bobby Kennedy.”

A top adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Means’ exit comes mounting frustration from MAHA supporters over government inaction on ultraprocessed foods and pesticides.

It represents the latest blow to the political alliance between the president’s “Make America Great Again” base and Kennedy’s MAHA voters, who helped power Trump to the White House in 2024, only for them to grow increasingly disillusioned as their key food and health priorities stalled.

This month, a coalition of MAHA activists released a “scorecard” claiming the administration had failed most of its promises to restrict pesticide use, promote healthier foods and break up special interests in Washington.

Means, who was widely credited with introducing Kennedy to Trump – eventually leading the former to endorse him and end up in his Cabinet – had served as one of Kennedy’s closest outside advisers before officially joining the administration. He held a temporary role at the White House, then later became a top adviser at HHS. Trump nominated his sister, Casey Means, as surgeon general, though this was later withdrawn.

Means, who had championed Trump as a candidate willing to overhaul the government’s approach to food and health regulation, grew increasingly frustrated over delays in advancing a series of policies at the center of the MAHA agenda, three people familiar with the matter said.

Trump health officials had initially hoped that policies, including an effort to create a definition for ultraprocessed foods, would be finalized well before the midterm elections. Instead, they’ve faced continued delays in the White House and sharp pushback from major agriculture industry groups.

Means decided to quit primarily because of those delays, the people familiar with his thinking said.

He is the latest in a string of senior health officials who have quit or been fired in recent months as voters soured on Kennedy’s controversial vaccine policies and the White House sought to pivot its health agenda toward more popular policy priorities.

In August, Means stood alongside Kennedy at an HHS event where the secretary promised a slew of policies aimed at cracking down on artificial food dyes, sweeteners and other additives in popular foods.

But their announcement stopped short of requiring food manufacturers to prove their ingredients are safe – a long-held priority for MAHA advocates.

The delay has stoked anger among MAHA advocates promising retribution at the ballot box.

Means, in a post on X, said that Kennedy and Trump “laid out a vision of combatting the entrenched, dark forces in DC that profit from Americans getting sick” and have made significant progress in the past two years. “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,” he wrote.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kelly Ryerson, a MAHA advocate known for her activism on pesticides, said of Means: “ I am impressed that he completed over two years at HHS fighting the food battle, despite all of the obstacles presented by corporate interests.”

“Sophisticated legal roadblocks and political shenanigans designed to appease corporate interests have made progress nearly impossible,” Ryerson added. “Big Food and Big Ag only continue to survive by owning our elected officials and regulators, and they are currently succeeding.”

“It’s devastating, but had to be done,” Alex Clark, an influencer who runs a popular MAHA-themed podcast for Turning Point USA, said, referring to Means’ exit. “ I would have had no choice but to leave too.”

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/文件

据多位知情人士透露，卡利·米恩斯（Calley Means）是“让美国再次健康”运动的杰出人物，他于周四辞去了特朗普政府高级卫生官员的职务，原因是他对政府在应对慢性病方面取得的进展感到失望。

Means在一份声明中证实了他的离职，他表示，他“怀着对特朗普总统和罗伯特·肯尼迪的极大敬意”辞职。

作为卫生与公众服务部部长小罗伯特·F·肯尼迪的高级顾问，米恩斯的离职加剧了MAHA支持者对政府在超加工食品和杀虫剂问题上不作为的不满。

这代表着总统的“让美国再次伟大”支持者与肯尼迪的“让美国再次伟大”选民之间的政治联盟遭受了最新打击。这些选民曾帮助特朗普在2024年入主白宫，但随着他们的主要食品和健康优先事项停滞不前，他们也越来越感到失望。

本月，MAHA 活动人士联盟发布了一份“评分卡”，声称本届政府在限制杀虫剂使用、推广更健康的食品以及打破华盛顿的特殊利益集团方面，未能兑现其大部分承诺。

米恩斯被广泛认为是肯尼迪与特朗普的引荐人，最终促使肯尼迪支持特朗普并进入内阁。在正式加入政府之前，米恩斯曾是肯尼迪最亲密的外部顾问之一。他曾在白宫担任临时职务，之后成为卫生与公众服务部的高级顾问。特朗普曾提名他的妹妹凯西·米恩斯担任公共卫生局局长，但后来撤回了这一提名。

据三位知情人士透露，曾力挺特朗普，认为他是一位愿意彻底改革政府食品和健康监管方式的候选人的米恩斯，对MAHA议程核心的一系列政策推进的延误越来越感到沮丧。

特朗普政府的卫生官员最初希望，包括制定超加工食品定义在内的各项政策能在中期选举前最终敲定。然而，他们却遭遇了白宫的持续拖延以及来自主要农业行业团体的强烈反对。

据了解他想法的人士透露，米恩斯决定辞职的主要原因就是这些延误。

近几个月来，随着选民对肯尼迪备受争议的疫苗政策感到不满，白宫试图将卫生议程转向更受欢迎的政策优先事项，肯尼迪是众多辞职或被解雇的高级卫生官员中的最新一位。

8 月，米恩斯与肯尼迪一同出席了美国卫生与公众服务部 (HHS) 的一项活动，肯尼迪部长在活动中承诺将出台一系列政策，旨在打击流行食品中的人工色素、甜味剂和其他添加剂。

但他们的声明并未要求食品生产商证明其成分安全——这长期以来一直是 MAHA 倡导者的首要任务。

这一延误激起了 MAHA 倡导者的愤怒，他们誓言要在投票箱前进行报复。

Means在X网站上发帖称，肯尼迪和特朗普“描绘了一幅与华盛顿特区根深蒂固的黑暗势力作斗争的蓝图，这些势力靠美国人患病牟利”，并且在过去两年中取得了显著进展。他写道：“过去两年围绕这些目标发生的政策和文化变革比历史上任何时期都多——而且我知道这场运动才刚刚开始。”

白宫方面尚未对此事作出回应。

以积极参与农药防治活动而闻名的 MAHA 倡导者 Kelly Ryerson 评价 Means 时说：“尽管面临企业利益带来的种种阻碍，他仍然在 HHS 工作了两年多，致力于食品安全斗争，这让我印象深刻。”

赖尔森补充道：“精心设计的法律障碍和旨在安抚企业利益的政治伎俩，使得取得进展几乎不可能。大型食品公司和大型农业公司之所以能够继续生存，仅仅是因为它们收买了我们的民选官员和监管机构，而且它们目前确实得逞了。”

“这令人痛心，但不得不这样做，”为美国转折点组织（Turning Point USA）运营热门MAHA主题播客的网红亚历克斯·克拉克（Alex Clark）在谈到米恩斯（Means）的离开时说道，“我也别无选择，只能离开。”