RFK Jr.'s Top Adviser Resigns, MAHA Movement Reels

This roundup covers health policy developments. Calley Means, an influential adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., resigned Thursday, weeks before the midterm elections. Members of Kennedy's Make America Healthy Again movement view the departure as a serious setback. Means did not disclose the reason for resigning. Means expressed strong respect for President Donald Trump and Kennedy, describing both as committed to challenging a corrupt Washington bureaucracy. Means also claimed that the Trump administration had achieved unprecedented progress against interests that profit from illness.

Means resigned after officials postponed a meeting scheduled for this week with Kennedy and White House officials about establishing a definition of ultraprocessed foods. An administration official speaking anonymously about Means' thinking said the postponement was "the straw that broke the camel's back". Kennedy and allies of Kennedy believe a formal definition could shift Americans away from foods Kennedy blames for widespread chronic disease. Kennedy initially promised a definition this spring. Opposition from industry delayed the initiative.

The White House and the Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately answer requests for comment about the resignation. Trump told reporters Thursday that Trump did not "know him very well at all," referring to Means. Kennedy praised Means for challenging established interests and pressing Washington to address the causes of chronic childhood disease. The Wall Street Journal reported that food-company shares increased following the resignation.

Doctor Robert Malone said Means' departure confirmed concerns that some movement supporters had expressed privately and others publicly. Malone argued that MAHA's outside advocacy organizations and representatives inside the administration had become largely irrelevant. Malone said unfulfilled commitments had alienated the populist supporters behind the movement. Malone's references included outside organizations such as MAHA Action and the MAHA Center. Malone praised Means as the main architect of last year's MAHA Commission, which published planned administration measures to improve children's health. Malone shares Kennedy's doubts about Covid-19 vaccines and advised the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine recommendations before resigning in March amid conflict with HHS.

MAHA influencer and conservative podcast host Alexandra Voetberg argued that corporate influence and crony capitalism were undermining the administration, repeating concerns Voetberg had raised since summer 2025. However, David Mansdoerfer, an HHS deputy assistant secretary for health during Trump's first administration, criticized the resignation's proximity to the election and argued that an adviser without Senate confirmation cannot force White House action.

The Center for American Progress, a think tank that helps develop policy ideas for the left, released a policy outline today urging Democrats to adopt Kennedy's priorities on ultraprocessed foods and harmful chemicals. CAP urged progressives to regain leadership on food and chemical safety. CAP president Neera Tanden, an adviser in the Clinton, Obama and Biden administrations, said unfulfilled Trump administration promises gave Democrats greater scope to attract MAHA voters important to Trump's 2024 victory.

CAP proposed warning labels for ultraprocessed foods, prohibitions on harmful chemicals and tougher reviews of food and pesticides. Some proposals resemble commitments Kennedy made early in Kennedy's tenure that remain unfulfilled. Democrats are seeking to attract dissatisfied MAHA supporters, with Means' resignation again highlighting that dissatisfaction. Democrats also seek to regain Congress and establish an agenda for the 2028 presidential election after losing to Trump and Republicans in 2024.