Top adviser to Kennedy resigns from Trump administration

Calley Means, a senior adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and a leading voice for the "Make America Healthy Again" movement, has left the Trump administration. NBC News reports that Means gave the network a statement praising both President Trump and Kennedy while describing a Washington bureaucracy bent on preserving the status quo. He posted a similar message on X.

Means had worked on Kennedy's 2024 presidential campaign and helped shape the MAHA agenda. He entered government early last year as a special government employee, then moved into a full-time Health and Human Services post once he sold off his stake in Truemed, his wellness company. A person familiar with his thinking says he grew discouraged by how little he could accomplish. The final blow, this person said, was the stalled federal definition of ultra-processed foods, which officials hinted at in August but have not issued. The source also pointed to Trump's order to increase glyphosate supply and to Environmental Protection Agency moves, such as weaker mercury emissions standards and looser PFAS drinking water limits.

Means cited wins including SNAP soda limits, faster psychedelics research, voluntary dye phase-outs and revised dietary guidelines.

Summarized by PolitiKool from NBC News’s reporting. Read the full story at NBC News →