{"id":2703864,"date":"2026-11-11T07:20:30","date_gmt":"2026-11-11T12:20:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigncalley-means-how-big-food-and-big-pharma-blocked-popular-maha-reforms\/"},"modified":"2026-11-11T07:27:54","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T12:27:54","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigncalley-means-how-big-food-and-big-pharma-blocked-popular-maha-reforms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigncalley-means-how-big-food-and-big-pharma-blocked-popular-maha-reforms\/","title":{"rendered":"Calley Means: Big Food, Big Pharma Blocked MAHA Reforms"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigncalley-means-how-big-food-and-big-pharma-blocked-popular-maha-reforms%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2703864&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Former White House adviser Calley Means told Joe Rogan that many Make america Healthy Again (MAHA) initiatives stalled due to bipartisan lobbying and midterm fundraising. He saeid Susie Wiles blocked efforts on sugar and refined carbs, industry pressure delayed an ultra\u2011processed food definition and the inclusion of glyphosate in a MAHA report, and the DOJ backed Monsanto in a related Supreme Court case. Means alleged officials pushed to ease restrictions on fruit\u2011flavored vapes and that vaccine inquiries and a flawed mRNA flu trial were stalled or approved as of lobbying. He resigned, calling the system structurally broken.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Former White House adviser Calley Means <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.happyscribe.com\/the-joe-rogan-experience\/2578-calley-means\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a> Joe Rogan that many Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiatives stalled because of the lobbying machine\u2019s bipartisan efforts to control Washington.<\/p>\n<p>Means, who helped unite Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the 2024 campaign season, resigned as an adviser to RFK Jr. last month. Means told Rogan that White House officials weighed what industry donors wanted when deciding which parts of the MAHA agenda to follow through on, adding that the problem is a bipartisan issue and that President Donald Trump was often unaware of the stonewalling going on.<\/p>\n<h2>The Battle Over What to Study<\/h2>\n<p>Means <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dMBBOawFy_4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">explained to Rogan<\/a> that he and former Clinton FDA commissioner David Kessler had bonded over their desire to tackle sugar and refined carbohydrates, but that then-Chief of Staff Susie Wiles blocked those efforts, telling Means, \u201cI need the money from the sugar people to win the midterms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Means explained that White House advisers let fundraising concerns for the midterms shape what decisions the administration made about Trump\u2019s MAHA agenda, with Means describing Wiles as the \u201cmost powerful chief of staff in modern American history\u201d with a \u201cstranglehold on any policy decision.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe made the midterm strategy the policy strategy,\u201d Means said, adding that the administration couldn\u2019t \u201cdo certain things\u201d because it would \u201churt special interest configurations for the midterms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Means described a similar incident when it came to a proposed definition of ultra-processed food. Means said the definition had a lot of support and wouldn\u2019t have banned any foods, but a lobbyist for Oreo-maker Mondelez told Means that the definition would \u201churt\u201d the company\u2019s business and threatened to call White House officials. Means says the proposal was delayed.<\/p>\n<p>But Means also noted that the problems he faced in the Trump White House would still happen even if Democrats were in charge. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re playing this game where we\u2019re just ping-pong back and forth between the parties with an absolutely broken system,\u201d Means told Rogan, pointing out that lawmakers on both sides rely on fundraising from big donors and that government officials often know there\u2019s a chance for a post-political career in industries they regulate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is wider than partisan,\u201d Means said. \u201cIt\u2019s just like a structural problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI cannot express to you how broken the Senate and Congress are,\u201d he added. \u201cLike they don\u2019t go against special interests.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>The \u2018Greatest Fight I\u2019ve Ever Experienced\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Means said the \u201cgreatest fight\u201d he had participated in was the fight over pesticides.<\/p>\n<p>Means explained that Tony Fabrizio, a pollster who has long worked for Trump\u2019s campaign and also runs polling that the White House uses, conducted a poll that found 92 percent of Republicans supported regulating pesticides, and Means argued it was a clear voter mandate. Yet there was a battle in the administration over whether the MAHA\u2019s commission report would mention glyphosate.<\/p>\n<p>Means said it was \u201cthe greatest fight I\u2019ve ever experienced up to that time in my life to have the word \u2018glyphosate\u2019 in that report\u201d and described the industry reaction as \u201calmost violent.\u201d Means alleged that industry representatives called Wiles and other White House officials to keep glyphosate out of the report and even block any inquiry into it.<\/p>\n<p>Means claimed that Walker Barrett, a Wiles deputy, introduced a draft order that designated glyphosate a national security issue and allegedly said, \u201cThis is final. It\u2019s national security. It\u2019s coming out tomorrow.\u201d Barrett allegedly told Means to tell RFK Jr. that \u201cthis is not up for discussion\u201d and that RFK Jr. should not call Trump about it.<\/p>\n<p>The administration also took that position in a Supreme Court case involving glyphosate, which is the active ingredient in the Roundup weedkiller at the heart of the suit. Means said the DOJ urged the high court to take up <em>Monsanto Co. v. Durnell<\/em>, a case in which a Missouri man said Monsanto should have had a cancer warning label on its Roundup product. The court later ruled that federal labeling regulations preempted the man\u2019s \u201cstate-law failure-to-warn\u201d claim. <\/p>\n<p>Means said that White House health adviser Heidi Overton worked with the DOJ on the filing but never discussed the matter with RFK Jr. A farmer later brought the case up during a meeting with Trump and RFK Jr., and Means said that Trump called the court\u2019s decision a \u201cterrible idea\u201d and asked, \u201cHow the hell did this happen?\u201d Trump was seemingly unaware that his own administration backed Monsanto in the case.<\/p>\n<h2>Vaping<\/h2>\n<p>Means also alleged that members of the administration argued for getting fruit-flavored vape products approved in a bit to attract young men ahead of the midterms.<\/p>\n<p>Means alleged that White House officials repeatedly called in then-FDA commissioner Marty Makary to press him on the vaping stuff. Means described Makary as being \u201cpounded\u201d about the issue in \u201cmeeting after meeting,\u201d noting what the agency had to do in terms of establishing the risks that vaping has on children before it could authorize any products.<\/p>\n<p>Makary resigned in May, though Means indicated his departure was a firing due to the vaping issue. Means said that after Makary\u2019s departure, Overton, who \u201ckind of did whatever Susie \u2026 wanted,\u201d drafted a policy easing restrictions on fruit-flavored vapes.<\/p>\n<p>The FDA was then <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/fda-vaping-ecigarettes-trump-makary-fe31c6e2dcda2f077134faa25e7012ad\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sued<\/a> by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usnews.com\/news\/us\/articles\/2026-07-14\/us-fda-sued-for-allowing-unauthorized-vaping-products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the American Heart Association and others<\/a> who argued the guidance unlawfully allowed certain vape products to be marketed without the required FDA authorization or scientific review.<\/p>\n<h2>Vaccines<\/h2>\n<p>Means also alleged that Trump wanted an investigation into vaccines but that Fabrizio showed him polling that the issue wasn\u2019t that popular. Means says Wiles and Fabrizio stalled inquiries into vaccines for about a year before Trump then intervened, though it\u2019s unclear which inquiries were delayed.<\/p>\n<p>Means also described a Moderna-created mRNA flu vaccine that went through a flawed study that allegedly resulted in participant deaths. Even the Biden administration called out the trial\u2019s problems, Means said. Makary also noted the issues with the vaccine\u2019s study and pressed for more robust testing, according to Means. But after Makary\u2019s departure, Means said, corporate lobby groups, such as Ballard Partners, a Wiles-linked lobbyist, succeeded in getting the vaccine approved despite its alleged side effects.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Means: MAHA stalled by bipartisan lobbying; quit RFK Jr<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2703865,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Screenshot-2026-11-10-at-1.56.28-PM-scaled-e1794337389694-1024x577.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[87742,39919,87741],"class_list":["post-2703864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-big-food","tag-big-pharma","tag-calley-means"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Screenshot-2026-11-10-at-1.56.28-PM-scaled-e1794337389694-1024x577.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2703864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2703864"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2703864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2703867,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2703864\/revisions\/2703867"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2703865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2703864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2703864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2703864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}