Calley Means, a health care entrepreneur and key adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is back in the federal health department.
The directory for the Department of Health and Human Services now lists Mr. Means as a senior adviser. Andrew Nixon, a representative for the department, confirmed to The New York Times on Tuesday that Mr. Means had been hired, and said he would support food and nutrition policy in his new role.
Mr. Means previously served as a special government employee, a temporary position limited to a 130-day term. He said last month that he had vacated the role.
Mr. Means has exerted wide influence in moving forward Mr. Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, emerging as one of the loudest — and most assertive — voices in the movement. He coordinated a major government report that painted a bleak picture of the state of American children’s health. Lately, he has been championing upcoming reforms to federal dietary guidelines, among other initiatives he says can help combat chronic disease. He posted an image of a food pyramid on social media last month, labeling it “one of the deadliest documents in American history.”
He is a fixture on panels and podcasts, touting what he views as Mr. Kennedy’s accomplishments and casting the American health apparatus as broken and corrupt. Mr. Means frequently decries American medicine as a “sick-care” system that pressures patients onto a pharmaceutical “treadmill” and prioritizes profits over prevention.
Mr. Means declined to comment for this article.
In 2024, he released the best-selling book “Good Energy,” which he wrote alongside his sister, Dr. Casey Means, the nominee for surgeon general. Dr. Means was scheduled to testify before a Senate health committee last month but went into labor before she was set to appear. The hearing was postponed.
Mr. Means is the co-founder of Truemed, a start-up that helps customers funnel their flexible savings accounts dollars toward supplements, gym equipment and other wellness products.
He had come under scrutiny for potential conflicts of interest, given his stake in the company. Last month, two Democratic congressmen sent a letter to Mr. Kennedy asking if Mr. Means would release financial disclosure forms.
Mr. Means will divest his holdings in Truemed, Mr. Nixon said. Joe Vladeck, general counsel at the company, wrote in an email Tuesday that Mr. Means had left Truemed and no longer has any role with the company.
Dani Blum is a health reporter for The Times.
The post Calley Means Returns to Kennedy’s Side as Senior Adviser appeared first on New York Times.
