The abrupt resignation of one of the leading Make America Healthy Again advocates from the Trump administration on Thursday is a threat to discourage swing midterm election voters who want reforms to federal food policy.
Calley Means, one of the founding figures in the MAHA movement, resigned from his position in the Trump administration on Thursday after reportedly clashing with members of the White House inner circle over delays in advancing food policy reforms central to his agenda.
Means’s departure comes as Republicans are struggling nationwide in polls ahead of the elections on Nov. 3. His resignation is likely to spark disillusionment with President Donald Trump and the GOP among MAHA voters who voted for him in 2024.
Kelly Ryerson, a food reform and anti-pesticide activist, told the Washington Examiner that Means’s resignation “is a strong signal that the administration is falling short on their commitments to our MAHA cohort,” but it might not be enough to tip the scales in favor of Democrats.
“President Trump is surrounded by smart, shrewd industry players that hold enough power to silence the demands of our diseased population,” Ryerson said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that MAHA voters will run and vote Democrat. It’s more a renewed, deep distrust in the entire political system that continues to leave our kids sick and medicated.”
Means was one of the central figures in the summer of 2024 who connected Robert F. Kennedy with Trump, who at the time were rival presidential candidates.
After Kennedy was appointed health and human services secretary, Means has been a key adviser to Kennedy, including helping with the revision of the dietary guidelines and negotiations with food companies to remove artificial dyes from certain products.
But in recent weeks, he has reportedly been growing frustrated with other insiders in the administration with the delay in formalizing a definition for ultra-processed foods and corresponding labeling requirements, one of the top priorities for MAHA proponents. Multiple outlets reported in recent months that Means had clashed with other White House officials, who MAHA activists say are too closely connected to industry stakeholders.
Kennedy on Thursday evening thanked Means on X for his “vision, leadership and relentless drive to reform our food system and make our children healthier” while also thanking Trump and the White House team “for championing the MAHA agenda and supporting our work to protect children’s health.”
Food policy reforms, such as improved labeling for and restrictions on ultra-processed foods, are among the most popular of MAHA’s objectives.
An April poll by Politico found that 56% of self-identified MAHA supporters said removing ultra-processed foods from the American diet was a core principle of the movement. Another half of respondents said limiting pesticides was critical to the MAHA agenda.
A separate poll conducted by the health policy group KFF in April found broad bipartisan support for MAHA food reforms. Three in 4 respondents said there is not enough regulation of chemical additives in foods, and another 2 in 3 said they would like to see more regulation of pesticide use.
Toby Rogers, president of the MAHA-aligned Brownstone Institute, said the stalling of popular food reform proposals is “because the White House is so completely captured by industry.”
“Food reforms were the low hanging fruit, the two foot putt that was supposed to give MAHA momentum to take on Big Pharma. And even those reforms have completely stalled out,” Rogers said.
But MAHA advocates who are more closely affiliated with the Republican Party are less pessimistic about the GOP’s commitment to their cause.
Alex Clark Voetberg, host of Turning Point USA’s wellness podcast Culture Apothecary, posted on X that Means’s departure “should be setting off alarm bells for everyone who cares about the future of our children’s health.”
“We have very few left with integrity in the White House,” Clark Voetberg said. “We need to let it be known clearly and loudly how much this matters to us.”
She later told her X followers, however, to still vote Republican “because it’s way better than the alternative.”
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Jennifer Galardi, a health and wellness policy analyst with the Heritage Foundation, told the Washington Examiner that she does not think his departure or the corresponding ill feelings will greatly affect the outcome of the midterm elections.
“There are many people still working to restore American wellness, and we will carry through on his vision,” Galardi said. “D.C. can be brutal and burnout is real, but we are all very grateful for his dedication and hard work.”
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
