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By Marni Rose McFall
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A new fissure has emerged among Republicans following the GOP's crushing defeat in the 2026 midterm elections, with a former Health and Human Services (HHS) adviser accusing former White House chief of staff Susie Wiles of catering to lobbyists.
Calley Means, a former senior White House and HHS adviser, alleged on Friday's episode of The Joe Rogan Experience that Wiles and other aides pressed HHS and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to create a pathway for fruit-flavored vapes following the lobbying of tobacco interests connected to the firm Ballard Partners.
Means, who helped advance the "Make America Healthy Again" movement, said on the popular podcast: "The simple reality in why I left is that there is a very concentrated group of people in the Trump administration that are antagonistic to what people voted for." Documentary evidence of Means' allegations has not been provided, and named parties, including Wiles, deny his account of events.
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During the first half of the second Trump administration, Means helped lead HHS's efforts to revise the country's dietary guidelines and remove soda and candy from SNAP benefits. Upon his resignation in October, Means said he was leaving with "tremendous respect for President Trump and [Health Secretary] Robert F. Kennedy Jr."
On the podcast, Means urged the president to "clear his house." He also told host Joe Rogan, a prominent ally of President Donald Trump, that "it is absolutely true that his administration has been infiltrated by the very people that he energized voters to say he would get out of D.C."
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Means' allegations display a growing tension between the MAHA movement and the Trump administration more broadly.
Whether it's pesticide regulation or the new surgeon general nomination, MAHA-aligned lawmakers and supporters have been outraged by some of the administration's policymaking.
In a statement to Newsweek, White House spokesperson Allison Schuster said MAHA had "found a champion in President Trump," adding: "The Administration has already secured extensive victories for the MAHA Agenda, including overhauling the dietary guidelines for Americans, axing artificial ingredients in our food supply, and investing in regenerative farming. President Trump and Secretary Kennedy continue to work around the clock to deliver more wins for the American people."
Newsweek has contacted Wiles, Means and Ballard Partners for comment outside regular working hours.
Calley Means’ Allegations Against Susie Wiles
Means made public allegations against Wiles and other officials first on The Joe Rogan Experience and later in an interview with CBS News, and he has shared multiple posts on social media.
Since those interviews aired, he has requested that records on Wiles' influence on health policy be made public.
"In light of suggestions that Susie Wiles and James Blair may pursue legal action over my Joe Rogan interview, I am publicly requesting that she, Ballard Partners, Continental Strategy, and other relevant parties immediately preserve all potentially relevant records and communications," Means wrote on X on Sunday.
Among his allegations is that Wiles withheld support from efforts to make children's diets healthier, and that her team demanded more approvals of flavored e-cigarettes.
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Wiles, the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff, left the role in a major shake-up of the Trump administration. She has become a focal point amid the escalating blame game among Republicans following wide-ranging losses in the midterm elections. Trump announced her departure on Friday, confirming that the top White House aide Stephen Miller would replace her.
Means told CBS News' Face the Nation, in an interview that aired on Sunday night, "Underneath Trump's nose, in many cases, you had a group of former lobbyists, catering to the vaping industry, catering to the ultra-processed food industry, catering to the pharmaceutical industry, catering to the pesticide industry and doing their bidding with an excuse that we need their money for the midterms and really need to actually go against what voters said."
He told Rogan that Wiles said many times: "We need money for the midterms, Calley. We need money for the midterms."
Means' allegations have centered on issues surrounding vapes and glyphosate.
Trump’s Policies on Vapes and Herbicides
In early May, the FDA approved some fruit-flavored e-cigarettes. The agency authorized Glas Inc. to market mango- and blueberry-flavored nicotine pods, alongside two menthol varieties, for adults.
The FDA had previously limited its e-cigarette authorizations to tobacco- and menthol-flavored products and had rejected more than 1 million applications for fruit, candy and other flavored products amid concerns about their appeal to young people. The FDA said authorization did not mean the products were safe.
Ahead of the 2024 election, Trump said he would "save vaping again," writing on Truth Social, "I saved flavored vaping in 2019, and it greatly helped people get off smoking."
In February, Trump signed an executive order that invoked the Defense Production Act, supporting domestic production of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides, including the chemical used in products such as Roundup.
The order said that maintaining supplies of glyphosate-based herbicides is important to U.S. agriculture and food security, and it directed the agriculture secretary to use the Defense Production Act to help ensure their continued supply.
The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic to humans."
The move sparked a backlash among MAHA supporters, with prominent activist Kelly Ryerson writing on X: "Just as the large MAHA base begins to consider what to do at midterms, the President issues an EO to expand domestic glyphosate production. The very same carcinogenic pesticide that MAHA cares about most."
Wiles Denies Lobbying Allegations
James Blair, who served as a deputy to Wiles, denied Means' allegations in a statement to CBS News. "I didn't promote flavored vaping specifically at all," he said, adding that Means was "intentionally misrepresenting my role and my responsibility because he opposes the issue entirely."
CBS News reported that Wiles denied Means' allegations that she had arranged for tobacco industry representatives to meet with the president at his golf course to discuss vape policy, but the outlet did not publish details of the statement.
Brian Ballard, the lobbyist and founder of Ballard Partners, has also denied Means' allegations.
In a statement posted on X, Ballard said that while he did not "ordinarily respond to commentary," he was making an exception because Means has made "specific claims about Ballard Partners that are false, and the record should be corrected."
He denied allegations that Ballard Partners had communications with Wiles or anyone at the White House about fruit-flavored vapes or glyphosate. He said the firm's work with the White House on the topic of vapes has been against "illegal, unregulated vapes."
"Ballard Partners is a bipartisan firm, and we are proud of the work we do," the founder added.
While Wiles and others have disputed his account, Means' criticism has opened a broader argument over whether the MAHA agenda has been undermined by lobbying interests within Trump's orbit.
As Republicans assess their midterm losses and debate the direction of the Trump administration, it remains to be seen whether the fallout from Means' allegations will have an effect.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Rebecca Flood and Shakeema Edwards.
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