WASHINGTON (AP) — Kali Means, a senior adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and a leading advocate of the Make America Healthy Again movement, resigned from the Trump administration on Thursday.
Means did not provide a reason for his departure in his statement. His departure comes as leading voices in the MAHA movement express dissatisfaction with the Trump administration’s lack of progress on issues as diverse as food safety and regulation of the herbicide glyphosate.
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Means said he “walks away with great respect” for President Donald Trump and Kennedy.
“The past two years have seen historic policy and cultural changes in response to the chronic disease crisis and incentives for health care to benefit from our illness,” Means said. “This action is in the first inning and has only just begun.”
Means was hired as a White House adviser early in Trump’s second administration. He has used his position at the Department of Health and Human Services to attack the nation’s leading physician groups, federal agencies and government scientists, claiming they are only protecting their own interests.
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White House spokesperson Alison Shuster said the Trump administration “appreciates” Means’ time and “has done an outstanding job for the MAHA movement.” Representatives from the Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to requests for comment.
Health activist Kelly Ryerson is a leader of Renew America and is also known as the “Glyphosate Girl” on social media. “She was impressed by the way he completed more than two years fighting for food at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, despite the obstacles posed by corporate interests,” she said.
“At the heart of MAHA is a shared belief that the nation’s health must never be sacrificed for corporate profits and that preventable chronic disease poses a threat to America itself,” she said.
Means is the brother of health influencer, author and entrepreneur Dr. Kathy Means, who failed to be confirmed as surgeon general earlier this year amid questions about her stance on vaccines.
Means and his sister rose to prominence in the MAHA movement, arguing that ultra-processed foods, additives and pesticides may be to blame for many of the chronic health problems Americans face.
Means brought those arguments into the Trump administration, often clashing with senior White House officials worried about alienating the powerful food industry.
Meanwhile, Means’s emphasis on food frustrated other figures in the MAHA movement, who wanted to see Kennedy focus on “medical freedom” issues. For many, that means rolling back federal recommendations and approvals for vaccines.
Despite Means’ efforts, the government’s progress on food reform remains slow.
Kennedy had promised to release the first government definition of ultra-processed foods in April. Instead, acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas said at a meeting that month that defining the category was “really difficult.”
In August, Kennedy’s staff again hinted that a big announcement on the issue was imminent. Instead, the announcement focuses on a proposal for greater scrutiny of food additives. It only mentions ultra-processed foods in passing.
Zen Honeycutt, founder of Moms Across America, said Means will be missed by her organization, which campaigns locally and nationally to warn about the pollution, water and power costs associated with data center construction.
Honeycutt said Means “brought energy and fearlessness to Congress to fight for our children to have healthy food in school and for a healthy America.”
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