The New York Times reports:

Calley Means, who resigned as a top federal health official two weeks ago after clashing with the White House, on Friday accused President Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, of bowing to “unrelenting” pressure from industry lobbyists while prioritizing political fund-raising over Americans’ health.

In a two-hour interview with the podcaster Joe Rogan, Mr. Means said that Ms. Wiles withheld support from his efforts to make children’s diets healthier, citing the need for sugar industry money. He said her team demanded more approvals of flavored e-cigarettes, a top priority for major tobacco companies that donated at least $20 million to the G.O.P. in 2026. And he said they gave in to heavy lobbying from the kratom industry to relax proposed restrictions on products often referred to as “gas station heroin.”

“Susie said to me many times: ‘We need money for the midterms, Calley. We need money for the midterms,’” Mr. Means said.
Ms. Wiles and the White House were not immediately available to comment. The White House and the Department of Health and Human Services have responded to past allegations of lobbying influence on the administration’s health care policies by saying the administration consistently acted in the best interest of the American people.

Mr. Means, a close ally of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who helped build the Make America Healthy Again movement, avoided criticizing Mr. Kennedy or Mr. Trump. He directed his ire almost entirely at Ms. Wiles, a former lobbyist and political consultant, who he asserted had “spent her career taking money,” including from the pharmaceutical and pesticide industries and from the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, a former client. [Continue reading…]

Next to me, Stephen Miller is the strongest MAHA supporter in the administration. It’s time to unleash the Kraken.

— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) November 6, 2026