WASHINGTON — Calley Means, one of the architects of the Make America Healthy Again movement and a top adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., resigned on Thursday, 12 days before the November 3 midterm elections.

Means announced his departure in a post on X, saying he was resigning from the White House "with tremendous respect for President Trump and Bobby Kennedy." His statement did not give a reason. People familiar with his decision told CNN that he had grown frustrated with delays in advancing policies at the centre of the MAHA agenda, and NBC News cited a source who said he felt he could accomplish too little in Washington.

The exit matters because Means was widely credited with introducing Kennedy to Trump, a connection that led Kennedy to endorse Trump in 2024 and eventually take a Cabinet post, CNN reported. His departure lands as MAHA voters, who helped power Trump's 2024 win, grow increasingly disillusioned with the administration's progress on food and health priorities.

According to NBC News, which cited a source, the "final straw" was the delay in releasing a federal definition of ultraprocessed foods. The administration teased a definition in August but has not published one. CNN, citing three people familiar with the matter, said Means decided to quit primarily because of delays on a series of policies, including the definition. Health officials had initially hoped to finalise those measures well before the midterms, CNN reported, but they have faced continued delays in the White House and pushback from major agriculture industry groups.

The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the departure, according to MS NOW. The Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, said Means was frustrated that the White House was slow to act on some of Kennedy's policy ideas and blamed other administration officials for giving special interests too much influence.

NBC News reported that Means was also unhappy with other decisions. A source told the network he objected to a Trump executive order meant to boost the supply of glyphosate, the key ingredient in Roundup. He also objected to Environmental Protection Agency actions that clashed with Kennedy's agenda, including weaker mercury emissions standards and a rollback of drinking water limits for certain PFAS chemicals.

In August, Means stood beside Kennedy at an HHS event where the secretary promised a crackdown on artificial food dyes, sweeteners and other additives in popular foods, CNN reported. The announcement stopped short of requiring food manufacturers to prove their ingredients are safe, a long-held priority for MAHA advocates.

White House spokesperson Allison Schuster responded to the resignation. "We are grateful for Calley Means' time in the Trump Administration," she said, according to CNN and NBC News. CNN quoted her as adding that he had "done a fantastic job for the MAHA movement."

Means pointed to the record of the past two years. "More policy and cultural change has happened around these goals in the past 2 years than any time in history," he wrote, adding that he knew the movement was "just getting started." NBC News listed among the gains a limit on soda purchases through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, faster research on psychedelics, pressure on food companies to phase out certain dyes and revised federal dietary guidelines.

The setbacks were also on the list. NBC News noted a June Supreme Court ruling that Bayer, the maker of Roundup, did not need to warn consumers of a possible cancer risk, a case in which the Trump administration backed the company.

Reaction from the movement was swift. Kelly Ryerson, a MAHA advocate known for her activism on pesticides, told CNN she was "impressed that he completed over two years at HHS fighting the food battle, despite all of the obstacles presented by corporate interests."

Alex Clark, who runs a MAHA-themed podcast for Turning Point USA, was blunter. "It's devastating, but had to be done," she said, according to CNN, adding that she would have had no choice but to leave too.

CNN reported that Means is the latest in a string of senior health officials to leave or be dismissed in recent months, as voters soured on Kennedy's vaccine policies and the White House sought to shift its health agenda toward more popular priorities. This month, a coalition of MAHA activists released a scorecard claiming the administration had failed most of its promises to restrict pesticide use, promote healthier foods and break up special interests, CNN said.

Means advised Kennedy's 2024 presidential campaign and joined the administration early last year as a special government employee. He later became a full-time senior adviser at HHS after divesting from his wellness company, Truemed, NBC News reported. His sister, Casey Means, was Trump's nominee for surgeon general but faced scrutiny at her confirmation hearing, and Trump named Dr. Nicole Saphier as the new nominee in April. CNN said the earlier nomination was withdrawn.

MS NOW noted that Means described his exit as leaving the White House while its own reporting placed him at HHS. None of the three outlets reported a successor.

The next test comes on November 3, when voters decide control of Congress, and the federal definition of ultraprocessed foods has still not been released.