A former White House staffer has accused senior Trump advisers of “corrupt” behavior, claiming they treated the president “like a baby” while working to undermine Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again agenda.
Calley Means, who also served as a senior aide to Health Secretary Kennedy, told CBS’ Margaret Brennan that he feared the president had been “subverted” by advisers and political strategists allegedly influenced by special interests.
“I think he had severely poor advice from people who, in many respects, treated him like a baby and used him,” Means said on Sunday’s Face the Nation. He alleged that the aides repeatedly “blocked access to information” reaching Trump.
Means singled out former chief of staff Susie Wiles, who is due to leave the powerful post on Monday and move into a role within Trump’s political operation. Senior adviser Stephen Miller is expected to replace her.
His CBS remarks echoed comments made during a Friday interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, where Means identified several officials he believes obstructed or slowed policies promoted by the Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA, movement.
Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson has urged Americans to listen to the podcast, describing it as an account of “the corruption that Calley Means lays out in gory detail in government,” including, he said, within the Trump administration.
The allegations come as Democrats, having regained control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, promise investigations into claims of corruption inside the White House.
Several administration officials, however, have pushed back against Means’ accusations.
Former White House staffer Calley Means accused Trump advisers of treating the president “like a baby” while allegedly blocking Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again agenda during an appearance on CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday
Means specifically criticized former White House chief of staff Susie Wiles
In a statement to the Washington Post, James Blair, Trump’s top political adviser, said he had only “minimal passing knowledge” of which donors support specific organizations because he is not a fundraiser and has no role in fundraising.
“However, the implication of corruption towards me and all the others referenced by Calley is scurrilous, false and defamatory,” Blair said.
White House spokeswoman Allison Schuster said Friday that the “MAHA coalition has found a champion in President Trump,” adding that he had made significant progress toward the movement’s goals.
MAHA emerged from the 2024 alliance between Kennedy and Trump. Its supporters advocate healthier food, sweeping changes to vaccine policy and tighter limits on pesticide use.
In his Sunday interview with CBS, Means alleged that the food, pharmaceutical and pesticide industries had gained excessive influence over policy decisions—often, he said, without Trump’s full knowledge.
“Underneath Trump’s nose, in many cases, you had a group of former lobbyists catering to the vaping industry, the ultra-processed food industry, the pharmaceutical industry and the pesticide industry,” Means claimed. He said they were advancing those industries’ interests while arguing that campaign funding was needed for the midterm elections.
“The issues that came from Susie’s world were not healthy food, were not cleaning up pesticides, were not these core issues that Bobby Kennedy ran on,” he added.
Means alleged that Wiles deferred to lobbyists connected to her daughter and argued that campaign funds from various industries would be needed for the midterm elections
Means, who left the Department of Health and Human Services two weeks ago, has previously claimed that companies employing Wiles’ daughter, Katie, as a lobbyist received favorable treatment from the White House.
“If you’re a special interest and you want to get something done, the secret’s out. You pay Susie’s daughter,” Means told Rogan, saying the arrangement was openly discussed when a client was involved.
He also accused Wiles of taking a lenient approach toward the e-cigarette and kratom industries because of lobbying money.
“Unrelenting lobbying happened and this Susie world … huge pushing, huge, huge pushing, meetings pushing from the West Wing” to loosen standards, he said.
Asked Sunday whether he had wanted Wiles removed from her position, Means replied: “Yes. I think President Trump has been subverted by people who are beholden to special interests and not what President Trump ran on and what voters voted for.”
He later called for the preservation of all records linked to Wiles’ influence over health policy.
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“In light of suggestions that Susie Wiles and James Blair may pursue legal action over my Joe Rogan interview, I am publicly requesting that she immediately preserve all potentially relevant records and communications,” Means wrote on X.
His request included communications involving Wiles and the sugar industry’s influence on federal nutrition policy, as well as discussions with Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio, food industry representatives and White House officials about MAHA initiatives, school nutrition standards and a proposed federal definition of ultra-processed foods.
Means also sought drafts, internal correspondence, meeting notes and communications involving Kennedy, Walker Barrett and Heidi Overton. He further requested records from Continental Strategy, the lobbying firm where Wiles’ daughter works.
Means also criticized Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio, pointing to his pharmaceutical industry clients
Heidi Overton, a senior White House Domestic Policy Council aide and Trump’s choice to lead the Food and Drug Administration, was also criticized by Means
Wiles was not the only administration official targeted by Means.
He also raised questions about Fabrizio, Trump’s chief pollster, citing his work with pharmaceutical companies.
“It’s a matter of record Tony Fabrizio is in the pocket of Big Pharma,” Means told the Washington Post. “Pfizer is listed on his website as a client.”
Fabrizio rejected the accusation, calling claims that he was “in the pocket of Big Pharma” not only ridiculous but “demonstrably false.”
He said research by his firm had supported efforts to rein in pharmaceutical companies, introduce Most Favored Nation pricing for prescription drugs and link US drug prices to lower costs overseas—policies he argued could hurt Big Pharma’s profits.
Overton, a senior aide on the White House Domestic Policy Council and Trump’s nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration, was another target of Means’ criticism.
He described her as the “biggest block to MAHA policies.”
White House spokesman Kush Desai previously defended Overton, saying she had helped deliver “almost every single MAHA victory that the Trump Administration has secured for the American people.”
James Blair, Trump’s top political adviser, said he told Means that voters were primarily focused on the cost of food during the election
Means told Brennan that he had fully divested from the company he founded when he began serving as a special government employee last year, saying the decision was made “against my economic interests.”
During his conversation with Rogan, Means also criticized the lack of midterm focus on issues central to MAHA, despite polls indicating that most Americans believe food additives and pesticides are not sufficiently regulated.
Blair told the Washington Post that he had explained to Means that voters’ leading food-related concern was the rising cost of groceries.
“It’s one of the voters’ top budget concerns in general,” Blair said. “He wasn’t interested in that.”
President Trump announced Friday that Wiles would leave her position as chief of staff
Wiles is expected to be replaced Monday by senior adviser Stephen Miller
Trump announced Wiles’ departure after Means’ interview with Rogan aired Friday. Wiles had submitted her resignation to the president the previous day.
Some White House officials have described Wiles as a supporter of the MAHA agenda. Kennedy wrote on social media Friday that he was “grateful to Susie Wiles for her calm and inspiring leadership and wisdom.”
Other MAHA supporters, including Means, welcomed Miller’s appointment and said they believed he was committed to advancing the movement’s objectives.
“Stephen Miller wants to get transformative things done with Bobby Kennedy and President Trump that are not partisan, but structural,” Means said.
The Daily Mail has contacted the White House for comment.