Calley Means accused former White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and other advisers on Sunday, Nov. 8, of putting industry interests ahead of voters’ health, CBS News reported. Means is a former senior White House adviser and top aide to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Wiles and former deputy James Blair disputed key parts of his account in statements to CBS News. Means’s claims are allegations, and The Boston Report has not independently verified them.
Related: Trump Names Stephen Miller Chief of Staff as Susie Wiles Leaves After Midterm Losses.
What Means alleged
Means told “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan that a group of former lobbyists had catered to the vaping, ultra-processed food, pharmaceutical and pesticide industries. He said they acted “underneath Trump’s nose,” according to a CBS News transcript.
Means told CBS News that Wiles and “a very close-knit crew” of advisers “were taking money from the industries we ran on fighting against.” He said much of this happened without President Donald Trump’s full knowledge, according to the transcript.
Means went public Friday with allegations against Wiles in an interview taped Thursday for “The Joe Rogan Experience,” CBS News reported. Asked whether he intended to get Wiles removed, he said, “Yes.”
Wiles submitted her resignation Thursday night, CBS News reported. Three sources told CBS News the resignation was tied to Republicans’ midterm defeats. CBS News said it was unclear whether Means’s remarks factored into Trump’s decision to speed her departure.
The dispute over flavored vapes
Means claimed Wiles and Blair repeatedly pushed the Department of Health and Human Services to find a way to approve fruit-flavored vapes, CBS News reported. The Food and Drug Administration approved some fruit-flavored e-cigarettes in early May.
“I didn’t promote flavored vaping specifically at all,” Blair told CBS News. Blair said he was tasked with making the FDA’s application process follow federal law. He said Means was “intentionally misrepresenting my role.”
Two sources told CBS News that Trump tasked Blair with pressing then-FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary to respond faster to nicotine industry applications. Those sources also said the president sought to make flavored vapes more available.
Makary was pressed to resign in May amid reports of White House pressure over the products, CBS News reported. “Big tobacco exploited their connections to administration and HHS officials to put repeated pressure on me to approve fruit-flavored vapes that appeal to children,” Makary told CBS News.
Multiple sources confirmed to CBS News a New York Times report that tobacco lobbyists met with Trump at lunch at his Florida golf course. Means claimed Wiles arranged the meeting. Wiles denied that in a statement to CBS News.
An affiliate of Reynolds American gave $5 million to MAGA Inc. on April 30, CBS News noted in its transcript, citing Federal Election Commission data.
Responses from Wiles and others
Wiles told CBS News that Trump “did more for MAHA than any president before or likely any president in the future.” MAHA refers to the “Make America Healthy Again” movement, which Means helped found.
Kennedy and HHS staff had not responded to a request for comment as of broadcast, according to the CBS News transcript.
Means also criticized Dr. Heidi Overton, Trump’s nominee for FDA commissioner, calling her “the biggest block to MAHA policies I encountered in the government.” A spokesman for Overton told CBS News that “two former FDA commissioners think otherwise.” Kennedy has endorsed her nomination, CBS News reported.
What Means said about Miller and what comes next
Means resigned last month and said he left with “tremendous respect” for Trump and Kennedy, CBS News reported. He told CBS News he was frustrated by stalled efforts to create a federal definition of ultra-processed food.
Means said Stephen Miller, who takes over as chief of staff on Monday, was not among the officials he accused. “Stephen Miller wants to get transformative things done with Bobby Kennedy and President Trump,” Means said. CBS News said it asked Miller for additional context and had received no response as of broadcast.
Democrats take control of Congress in January. Follow developments on our Trump presidency tracker and the Congress Tracker. More coverage is on our Politics & Government page.
Sources
- CBS News: Former RFK Jr. adviser accuses Susie Wiles, other Trump officials of corruption, blocking MAHA policies
- CBS News: Transcript: Calley Means on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Nov. 8, 2026
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