"Disillusioned" MAHA leader quits as Trump admin's food agenda spoils: Report

Means’ resignation comes as members of the MAHA movement have grown increasingly critical of Kennedy’s inability to follow through with key policy priorities. There is also growing backlash to Kennedy’s seeming embrace of corporate interests. A MAHA summit last month drew scorn for having numerous corporate sponsors, including Walmart, UnitedHealth, Anthropic, OpenAI, and Grail. Sponsorship packages were reportedly sold for up to $300,000. At the summit, Kennedy sat down for a “fireside chat” with Vice President JD Vance and extolled the potential of artificial intelligence. Many MAHA members and leaders felt betrayed by the corporate involvement, saying it was antithetical to the grassroots nature of the MAHA movement.

Means is among the early leaders of the grassroots effort. Along with his sister, Casey Means, he co-authored a book considered the “MAHA bible,” titled Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health. The book provides a potpourri of dietary and lifestyle advice, including recommendations to avoid processed foods, seed oils, fragrances, a variety of home care products, fluoride, unfiltered water, bananas (when eaten alone), receipt paper, and birth control pills. One of its chapters is titled “Trust Yourself, Not Your Doctor.”

Trump nominated Casey Means to be surgeon general, but her nomination was abandoned amid misgivings over her medical qualifications, positions on vaccines, and promotion of unproven wellness claims.