---
title: "MAHA Leader Calley Means Resigns Amid Criticism of Kennedy"
description: "His departure comes as movement members criticize corporate sponsorships and the administration’s failure to deliver on food policy"
author: "rews desk"
published: 2026-10-22T19:04:06Z
modified: 2026-10-23T03:40:34Z
url: https://rews.cc/a/maha-leader-calley-means-resigns-amid-criticism-of-kennedy-76527d
language: en
tags: ["trump", "health", "ai", "politics", "regulation", "us"]
publisher: "Rews (https://rews.cc)"
---

# MAHA Leader Calley Means Resigns Amid Criticism of Kennedy

*His departure comes as movement members criticize corporate sponsorships and the administration’s failure to deliver on food policy*

By rews desk · October 22, 2026 · https://rews.cc/a/maha-leader-calley-means-resigns-amid-criticism-of-kennedy-76527d

## In brief

- Early MAHA leader Calley Means has resigned, Ars Technica reported on Oct. 22
- Movement members have criticized Kennedy’s policy record and corporate involvement
- Sponsorship packages for a MAHA summit reportedly sold for up to $300,000
- Means co-wrote Good Energy with his sister, Casey Means, whose surgeon general nomination was abandoned

Calley Means, an early leader of the Make America Healthy Again movement, has resigned amid discontent over the Trump administration’s food agenda, [Ars Technica reported](https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/10/disillusioned-maha-leader-quits-as-trump-admins-food-agenda-spoils-report/) on Oct. 22.

Members of the movement have criticized Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for failing to deliver on policy priorities and embracing corporate interests. A summit last month drew objections over sponsors including Walmart, UnitedHealth, Anthropic, OpenAI and Grail. Sponsorship packages reportedly sold for up to $300,000.

At the summit, Mr. Kennedy discussed the potential of artificial intelligence in a “fireside chat” with Vice President JD Vance. Many members and leaders said the corporate involvement betrayed the movement’s grassroots origins.

Mr. Means helped establish the movement alongside his sister, Casey Means. They wrote *Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health*, a book regarded within the movement as its “MAHA bible.”

The book offers dietary and lifestyle advice, recommending that readers avoid processed foods, seed oils, fragrances and various home care products. Its recommendations also extend to fluoride, unfiltered water, receipt paper and birth control pills. One chapter is titled “Trust Yourself, Not Your Doctor.”

President Trump nominated Ms. Means to be surgeon general, but her nomination was abandoned amid misgivings about her medical qualifications, positions on vaccines and promotion of unproven wellness claims, Ars Technica reported.