The former adviser also criticised the administration’s delay in establishing a definition for ultra-processed foods, another major MAHA priority.
He said his decision to resign from the administration stemmed from what he described as internal corruption and a group of officials working against the agenda that voters had supported. “The simple reality in why I left is that there is a very concentrated group of people in the Trump administration that are antagonistic to what people voted for and are, frankly, — I think it’s very clear — doing things for other reasons,” Means said. “Particularly in many cases to enrich their families,” he added. Outgoing White House chief of staff Susie Wiles played a central role in ensuring that corporate interests influenced the administration’s decisions, particularly on health-related policies, according to Means. “Susie said to me many times, ‘We need money for the midterms, Calley. We need money for the midterms,’” he said, adding that she had also told him, “I need the money from the sugar people to win the midterms. One of the major disagreements, he said, concerned the administration’s position on glyphosate, the active ingredient in Bayer’s weedkiller Roundup. “The amount of vitriol and lobbying on this issue, just having a simple definition out, because the food companies don’t want people to know the truth,” he said. Responding to the allegations, White House spokeswoman Allison Schuster told Axios that the administration had secured several victories for the MAHA agenda, including changes to dietary guidelines and efforts to remove artificial ingredients from the food supply.
Former White House official Calley Means has alleged that a group of influential people within US President Donald Trump’s administration worked to advance corporate interests at the expense of public health priorities, claiming that financial considerations also influenced key policy decisions. He alleged that Wiles repeatedly emphasised the need to raise money ahead of the midterm elections and prioritised contributions from powerful business groups. Means further claimed that Wiles had considerable control over policy decisions and that companies employing her daughter as a lobbyist received preferential treatment when seeking funding from the administration. The Trump administration had faced criticism from Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) activists after issuing an executive order calling for an adequate supply of glyphosate-based herbicides on national security grounds. Kennedy, meanwhile, defended the administration’s record, saying he and Trump “intend to keep fighting until the American people—not corporate influence—drive our health policies. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.
Means, a former adviser to Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, made the allegations during an interview on ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ on Friday. Trump announced on Friday that Wiles would leave her position, with Stephen Miller set to replace her as chief of staff.
Means alleged that officials worked behind the scenes to undermine Kennedy’s efforts to scrutinise the chemical.
He also claimed that a Justice Department lawyer who had previously worked with a firm representing Bayer drafted an opinion urging the Supreme Court to take up the company’s case and limit its liability in cancer-related lawsuits.
The former adviser also criticised the administration’s delay in establishing a definition for ultra-processed foods, another major MAHA priority.