Calley Means Steps Down as Senior Adviser to RFK Jr.
WHO:
PBS - White House spokeswoman Allison Schuster said the administration was grateful for Means’ service and that he “has done a fantastic job for the MAHA movement.”
PBS - Health activist Kelly Ryerson, also known as Glyphosate Girl, said she was “impressed that he completed over two years at HHS fighting the food battle.”
PBS - Means is the brother of Dr. Casey Means, who was not confirmed as surgeon general after questions were raised about her vaccine stance.
ABC News Politics - Calley Means is a leading advocate for the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement and served as a top adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
ABC News US - Calley Means is a key MAHA advocate and served as a top adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
ABC News Politics - Means said he leaves with respect for President Donald Trump and Kennedy.
ABC News US - Means said he leaves with respect for President Donald Trump and Kennedy.
WHAT:
PBS - Means said the movement was “in the first inning and just getting started,” after describing two years of policy and cultural change addressing chronic disease and health-care incentives.
PBS - Means used his HHS position to criticize physician groups, federal agencies and government scientists, alleging they protected their own interests.
PBS - Means and his sister argued that ultraprocessed foods, additives and pesticides contributed to Americans’ chronic health conditions.
PBS - Kennedy’s promised government definition of ultraprocessed food was not released; an FDA acting commissioner said defining the category “is really hard.” A later announcement focused on proposed greater scrutiny of food additives and mentioned ultraprocessed foods only briefly.
ABC News Politics - Means resigned from his role as a top adviser to Kennedy.
ABC News US - Means resigned as a top adviser to Kennedy.
WHEN:
ABC News Politics - The article describes the resignation as occurring days before the midterm elections.
WHY:
PBS - Means did not state why he was leaving. PBS reported his departure amid MAHA figures’ dissatisfaction with the administration’s progress on food security and glyphosate regulation.
PBS - Some MAHA figures were frustrated by Means’ focus on food and wanted Kennedy to prioritize “medical freedom,” including rolling back federal vaccine recommendations and approvals.
ABC News Politics - Means said he left with respect for President Donald Trump and Kennedy.
HOW:
ABC News Politics - Means’s departure was described as a resignation.
ABC News US - Means’s departure was described as a resignation.
(UPDATED October 23, 2026 11:06 UTC)
Calley Means, a leading Make America Healthy Again advocate and top adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has resigned. Means said he leaves with respect for President Trump and Kennedy, but did not explain his decision. White House spokeswoman Allison Schuster thanked him for his service, saying he had done a fantastic job for the MAHA movement. Means described the movement as only in its first inning, after two years of efforts to address chronic disease and health-care incentives. He and his sister, Dr. Casey Means, have argued that ultraprocessed foods, additives and pesticides contribute to poor health. But Kennedy’s promised government definition of ultraprocessed food was never released, and some MAHA figures have criticized the administration’s progress on food policy. Others wanted Kennedy to focus instead on medical freedom, including changing federal vaccine recommendations.
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(UPDATED October 23, 2026 00:10 UTC)
Calley Means, a leading voice in the Make America Healthy Again movement, has resigned as a top adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Means’s departure comes days before the midterm elections, marking a change within Kennedy’s advisory team. Means did not describe the resignation as a break with the administration’s leadership. He said he leaves with respect for President Trump and Kennedy. Means has been a prominent advocate for the MAHA movement and served as a key adviser to the health secretary. His resignation was described as a voluntary departure from the role. The facts provided do not give a further explanation for his decision, beyond his expression of respect for Trump and Kennedy.