A recently departed Trump aide is accusing the White House of systemic corruption. Calley Means, who left his position as a White House adviser on October 22, says that top Trump aides abandoned the administration’s priorities on health issues to serve corporate interests.
Means, who is closely associated with the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, first levied the charge on a November 6 appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast. Several of his allegations involve Susie Wiles, a former lobbyist, who served as Trump’s chief of staff until last Friday.
On the Rogan podcast, Means said that Wiles blocked Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary, from issuing a definition of “ultraprocessed” foods, the first step toward limiting such foods in school lunches. “I need sugar money,” Wiles said, according to Means. “I need the money from the sugar people to win the midterms.”
Florida Crystals Corporation, one of the world’s largest cane sugar refiners, donated $3 million to Trump’s super PAC, MAGA Inc., this cycle. The most recent $1 million donation came on July 23.
A spokesperson for Wiles called Means’ account “outrageous, defamatory, and provably false.”
Although there is no way to authoritatively resolve the conflicting narratives of Means and Wiles, prior reporting did indicate that the White House played a role in blocking RFK Jr.’s efforts to define ultraprocessed foods. According to a September 28 report in the Wall Street Journal, “White House staffers” expressed concern that RFK Jr.’s proposed definition could “support existing efforts to sue food companies over bad health outcomes.” Those same staffers also raised the “potential impact on the food industry and international trade agreements.” The Wall Street Journal reported that the White House’s objections “stalled three separate efforts to curb the country’s reliance on ultraprocessed foods.”
Means also pointed a finger at Brian Ballard, a top lobbyist who has raised tens of millions of dollars for Trump’s political operation. Wiles previously worked at Ballard’s firm. Here is what Means said about Ballard in a Sunday interview on CBS News:
So, you know, when you have the midterm strategy, and- and a belief that money for the midterms is more important than voter promises, you’re basically able to excuse everything. And that was, you know, those donations, right, is what Ballard helps you do. They help you donate to the right place, and, and then that’s more of a reason to do things.
One key example cited by Means was a Trump administration decision to loosen regulations on fruit-flavored vapes, which are seen as a key way to hook teens on the devices. The decision was set into motion during a May 2026 lunch at Trump’s golf club in Florida attended by Trump, Ballard, and top executives from two tobacco companies, Reynolds and Altria. During the meeting, Trump was convinced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should allow U.S. companies to sell fruit-flavored vapes more freely. Shortly afterward, the FDA released new guidance, circumventing the normal rule-making process, to that effect. It was seen as a blow to public health and, shortly after the guidance was issued, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary resigned, reportedly over concerns about the new policy.
“I know that Susie set up a lot of meetings [for Trump] with Brian Ballard,” Means said on CBS. Since the start of Trump’s second term, Reynolds has paid Ballard over $1.1 million in lobbying fees. Reynolds also donated $8 million to MAGA Inc. this cycle and $8 million more to other GOP super PACs. The company also donated an undisclosed amount to the White House ballroom, Trump’s pet project.
Means also cited a February 2026 executive order declaring glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, an herbicide sold by Bayer, to be “crucial to the national security and defense.” The World Health Organization declared glyphosate “probably carcinogenic to humans” in 2015, although that finding is disputed. Bayer has already paid over $10 billion to settle legal claims alleging Roundup causes cancer. The company proposed another $7.25 billion class action settlement earlier this year.
Trump’s executive order allows the government to require Bayer to continue to produce Roundup and provides some measure of liability protection. Although it does not end the existing litigation, it likely makes it easier for Bayer to obtain a favorable settlement.
Means told Rogan that Wiles and her deputies pushed through the executive order after Bayer paid Ballard “a ton of money.” Bayer hired Ballard shortly after the 2024 presidential election and has since paid the firm $660,000.
Overall, Means claims that, as White House chief of staff, Wiles did the bidding of the corporate clients of Ballard and another lobbying firm, Continental, where Wiles’ daughter is a partner. Is Means correct? The jury is still out.
What is undeniable is that Wiles’ tenure as White House chief of staff was extremely lucrative for both Ballard and Continental.
Ballard fights back
Brian Ballard issued a detailed statement on Sunday afternoon, asserting that “Means has made specific claims about Ballard Partners that are false.” The statement, however, is extremely carefully worded.
Regarding fruit-flavored vapes, Ballard says that “No one at Ballard Partners advocated to Susie Wiles or anyone on the White House staff for the authorization of fruit-flavored vapes.” Of course, this says nothing about Ballard’s direct lobbying of Trump, which he did at the May lunch with tobacco executives. He also does not address whether Wiles had any role in setting up the lunch.
On glyphosate, Ballard claims no one “lobbied or communicated with Susie Wiles or anyone in the West Wing” regarding the executive order. This is a narrower universe (”West Wing”) than his statement about vapes, which precluded contact with all “White House staff.” This suggests that Ballard may have lobbied White House staff. It also does not preclude lobbying other agencies involved in preparing the order.
Further, a disclosure shows Brian Ballard was personally listed as a lobbyist for Bayer “on the importance of crop protection tools for agricultural purposes” in the first quarter of 2026, when the executive order was signed. The lobbying was targeting the “White House Office.”
The scale of their corruption boggles the mind. AOC was on fire at the Congessional hearing about indemnifying Bayer for glyphosate.
Disgusting, the revelations about "sugar money," vapes, and glyphosate - so many morally bankrupt individuals willing to sacrifice the health of the American people for the sake of money. Nothing surprises me about the current regime, but it's quite sad how these lobbyists have so much influence to the detriment of public health.