Let us be clear about what is happening here. Calley Means, a former senior adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has leveled serious allegations of corruption against multiple Trump administration officials, including recently departed White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. The accusations are straightforward: these officials allegedly prioritized corporate interests over the explicit mandate given by American voters in 2024.
Means, who helped establish the Make America Healthy Again movement and facilitated the political alliance between President Trump and Kennedy, told a national news program Sunday that a cadre of former lobbyists operated beneath the president’s awareness to serve the vaping, ultra-processed food, pharmaceutical, and pesticide industries. Their justification? The administration needed industry money for the midterm elections. This represents a direct betrayal of the platform Trump campaigned on and the reforms voters explicitly demanded.
The specifics matter here. Means alleges that Wiles and her deputy, James Blair, pressured HHS to approve fruit-flavored vaping products. In early May, the FDA did precisely that, approving some fruit-flavored e-cigarettes. Blair has denied Means’ characterization, claiming he was simply ensuring the FDA followed federal law requiring six-month approval timelines for nicotine delivery devices. Blair stated the president himself made his position on vaping alternatives publicly known and provided clear direction on the matter.
Two sources familiar with the process confirmed that Blair received direction from President Trump to accelerate FDA responses to nicotine industry applications. These sources also acknowledged the president wanted flavored vapes more readily available. During the 2024 campaign, Trump explicitly promised to save vaping, referencing his first-term efforts to preserve flavored vaping as a smoking cessation tool. The e-cigarette industry responded with substantial political support.
Then-FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary was reportedly pressured to resign in May amid these controversies. Makary stated unequivocally that big tobacco exploited administrative connections to pressure him into approving fruit-flavored vapes appealing to children, which he refused to do. He also referenced the kratom lobby running an identical playbook to undermine efforts against what critics call gas station heroin. Makary’s statement is unambiguous about rejecting political corruption.
Multiple sources confirmed that tobacco lobbyists met with the president at his Florida golf course to discuss e-cigarette regulation. Means claims Wiles arranged this meeting. Wiles has denied these allegations.
The glyphosate issue presents another troubling data point. Earlier this year, President Trump signed an executive order boosting production of glyphosate, a herbicide the World Health Organization deems probably carcinogenic to humans. This directly contradicted Kennedy’s decades-long legal crusade against Monsanto for using this chemical. Kennedy publicly expressed displeasure with the order, testifying to Congress that it originated from the Pentagon for national security reasons. The Supreme Court subsequently ruled in June that Monsanto cannot be held liable for failing to warn consumers about alleged cancer risks.
Wiles submitted her resignation Thursday night, with her departure tied to Republican midterm defeats according to three sources. When asked directly if he intended to remove Wiles, Means responded affirmatively, stating President Trump has been subverted by people beholden to special interests rather than the voter mandate.
The facts present a disturbing pattern. American voters delivered a clear mandate in 2024 for reforming how corporate interests influence public health policy. If Means’ allegations prove accurate, a small group of administration officials systematically undermined that mandate to serve the very industries Trump and Kennedy campaigned against. Whether these officials acted with or without presidential knowledge remains the critical question. President Trump must address these allegations directly and demonstrate that his administration serves voters, not corporate donors seeking regulatory favors. The American people deserve nothing less than complete transparency about who actually controls health policy in this administration.
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