Calley Means, a former senior adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., accused Trump administration officials of allowing commercial interests to undermine the Make America Healthy Again agenda, allegedly citing the need for campaign money ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. In an interview broadcast Nov. 8, Means said officials told him, “We need their money for the midterms,” referring to industries including vaping, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and processed foods.
Means accused former White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and deputy chief of staff James Blair of pressuring HHS to approve fruit-flavored e-cigarettes. Both disputed his account. Former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary separately said tobacco interests repeatedly pressured him to authorize fruit-flavored products, but that he resisted. Means’ allegations have not been independently substantiated.