Corruption & Accountability · Report · File No. 261106-821
Ex-RFK Jr. adviser Calley Means blames White House aides for stalling MAHA agenda
Calley Means, who quit as a top adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in October, named five Trump advisers he says blocked health reforms. A Trump strategist he named called the claims a political attack.
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Calley Means, a former senior adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., went public Friday with new criticism of the Trump White House. He spoke on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, according to Yahoo News. He said the president's staff, not the president, stalled the "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) agenda. 3
Means named five people: Susie Wiles, Richard Walters, Walker Barrett, James Blair and pollster Tony Fabrizio. Walters is a deputy chief of staff, Barrett is the president's policy assistant, and Blair is a top political strategist. Means said Trump did not know how his staff worked with industry. 3
Means said the White House made key decisions on glyphosate without Kennedy. Glyphosate is the main ingredient in the weed killer Roundup. Means pointed to a White House court brief backing Bayer, Roundup's maker, in a Supreme Court case, Monsanto v. Durnell. 3
He also said a second MAHA report left out glyphosate because of industry pressure on Wiles. Of the Trump staff, he said, "I would recommend that he clear his house, and I think he's getting there." 3
From Channel GOPKimmel reads the White House statement attacking himJimmy Kimmel · 191 plays · captioned, with the source named
I would recommend that he clear his house, and I think he's getting there.
A response from the White House circle
Blair strongly disputed the claims, saying he had no idea what Means was talking about. He described the criticism as a political attack. He pointed to his work on Kennedy's confirmation and on removing a pesticide liability shield from a spending bill. 3
The White House and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday's remarks. 3 These are one former official's claims. The reports we reviewed do not include documents or evidence of wrongdoing. 3
How Means left
Means announced his resignation on Oct. 22, less than two weeks before the midterm election. In a post on X, he gave no reason. He wrote that he was resigning "with tremendous respect for President Trump and Bobby Kennedy." 2
NBC News reported that in a statement he described the federal government as facing "a corrupt DC bureaucracy that is doing everything possible to protect the status quo." 1 A source told NBC he was frustrated by how little he could get done. The final straw was a delay in releasing a federal definition of ultraprocessed foods. 1
Means had been an early MAHA figure. He helped bring Kennedy and Trump together during the 2024 campaign. He had cited wins including limits on soda in SNAP, the federal food aid program, and revised dietary guidelines. 12
Why it matters
That matters because Means is an insider who backed this administration's health agenda, and now he says staff blocked it. His account also suggests Kennedy was left out of decisions on a chemical in the food supply. 3
The interview came three days after Republicans lost control of both chambers of Congress. Means told Rogan, "it's why we lost the midterms." 3 Whether anyone investigates his claims is not yet known. Neither the White House nor HHS has answered them. 3
The Record
- Calley Means announces his resignation from the White House on X, less than two weeks before the midterm election 2
- A source tells NBC News the delay in defining ultraprocessed foods was the final straw 1
- Means tells the Joe Rogan Experience that five Trump advisers stalled MAHA, and James Blair disputes the claim 3
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Sources
- NBC News, “Calley Means, a top Kennedy adviser, resigns from Trump administration” (2026-10-22). nbcnews.com/health/health-news/kennedy-top-advisor-calley-me
- KATV (ABC News wire), “Calley Means, senior adviser to RFK Jr. at HHS, resigns from Trump administration” (2026-10-22). katv.com/news/nation-world/calley-means-senior-adviser-to-rf
- Yahoo News, “Top RFK Jr. ally bashes Trump admin after quitting” (2026-11-06). yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/top-rfk-jr-ally-bashes-1932
Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.
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