Trump administration renews push to define ultraprocessed foods
Summary
- The Trump administration is again pushing to finalize a federal definition of ultraprocessed foods, a Make America Healthy Again priority.
- The renewed effort came the week after Stephen Miller was appointed White House chief of staff; meetings with industry have gained momentum.
- A prior effort to define ultraprocessed foods stalled multiple times before the November 2026 election amid competing priorities and industry pushback.
- Calley Means, an advisor to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., resigned in October 2026 and accused former chief of staff Susie Wiles of blocking MAHA goals.
- The packaged food industry argues a government definition could raise grocery prices and open companies to legal liability.
Reactions
- A White House official said Stephen Miller and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have worked closely since day one to advance bipartisan MAHA victories.
- Health and Human Services spokesperson Emily Hilliard said the work never stalled and the administration is moving forward with the first federal definition.
- Susie Wiles, through a spokesperson, called Calley Means's assertions 'outrageous, defamatory, and provably false.'
- Calley Means alleged on a podcast that Susie Wiles's ties to industry swayed her to block the ultraprocessed food policy.
- Rhonda Bentz of the Consumer Brands Association said the government should not advance policies that raise prices and enrich the plaintiffs' bar.
- Katie Miller wrote on X, 'For our kids and yours, let's Make America Healthy Again.'
Timeline newest first
The Trump administration is again pushing to finalize a definition of ultraprocessed foods, the week after Stephen Miller was appointed White House chief of staff.
Sources newest first
- Trump administration makes another push at MAHA priority
Politico reports that the Trump administration, a week after Stephen Miller became White House chief of staff, is again pushing to finalize a definition of ultraprocessed foods, a Make America Healthy Again priority that stalled before the election amid industry opposition and strains between the movement and the White House. Calley Means resigned in October and accused former chief of staff Susie Wiles of blocking MAHA goals, which Wiles denied; the industry warns a definition could raise prices and liability.
Background newest first
USDA delays grocery store rule after Mamdani appeal to Trump
Politico reports that the USDA is giving grocery and convenience stores 90 more days to comply with a new SNAP stocking rule requiring them to sell more fruits, dairy, vegetables, and grains, a delay New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani says he secured after appealing directly to President Trump that the rule would hurt bodegas and working New Yorkers. Republican senators had also urged more time, while some anti-hunger groups warn the rule could push some retailers out of SNAP entirely, and the convenience store lobby's Margaret Mannion called the delay a win for retailers and SNAP families.
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The Guardian reports on accusations by Calley Means, a former health adviser who resigned from Robert F Kennedy Jr's team, that Susie Wiles and other Trump officials stalled the "Make America Healthy Again" agenda by taking money from the sugar industry and catering to special interests ahead of midterm losses that gave Democrats both chambers of Congress. James Blair denies misrepresenting his role, RFK Jr says on X he stands firmly behind Trump, and the White House says outside groups never influence policy.
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Breaking Points host Saagar Enjeti blasts the MAHA "freakout" after Calley Means, RFK Jr.'s former advisor, alleged on Joe Rogan's podcast that chief of staff Susie Wiles, the lobbying firm Ballard Partners, and James Blair ran a pay-for-access scheme inside the Trump White House. Saagar and co-host Crystal say Trump himself knew and used MAHA supporters, and that Means got used.
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wsj.com· 5d
The Wall Street Journal reports on a bitter feud between former Trump advisers James Blair and Calley Means, who traded accusations of corruption and legal threats online after Means told Joe Rogan that Susie Wiles and other aides sided with corporate interests over the Make America Healthy Again agenda. The fallout followed Republican midterm losses, with Trump planning to replace Wiles as chief of staff with Stephen Miller, and could imperil FDA nominee Dr. Heidi Overton.
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A New Republic article reports Calley Means's accusations that Susie Wiles and a crew of former lobbyists ran the White House for corporate interests like the vape, pharmaceutical, and pesticide industries without Donald Trump's knowledge, drawing threats of a defamation suit from James Blair. It also covers Trump's 60 Minutes softening on immigration as Stephen Miller replaces Wiles, and donors' doubts about JD Vance's 2028 run.
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White House staff gave Trump bad advice, treated him ‘like a baby,’ ex-aide saysA former White House aide who quit the month before says President Donald Trump's senior advisers treated him "like a baby in many respects" and put midterm money ahead of Make America Healthy Again policy goals. An AI-generated summary says reader comments mostly criticized Trump as immature, which commenters argued justified the advisers' treatment.
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The Daily Beast reports on Calley Means' allegations, made on The Joe Rogan Experience, that chief of staff Susie Wiles blocked healthcare initiatives to court lobbyists and donors tied to her daughter Katie. Incoming Oversight chairman Robert Garcia pledges to investigate, while Attorney General Todd Blanche dismisses the claims as those of a disgruntled former official.
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Truthout reports that after Democrats won control of Congress in the 2026 midterms, several physicians elected to the Senate, including Abdul El-Sayed, are demanding that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. resign or face hearings in 2027. Speculation surrounds his future as Trump and Republicans search for scapegoats, with Senator Angela Alsobrooks writing, "RFK Jr. must resign or be fired."
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The Daily Beast reports that President Trump fired White House chief of staff Susie Wiles days before Stephen Miller was set to take over, and that Calley Means, who resigned weeks earlier, accuses her on Joe Rogan's podcast of running a corrupt operation that bowed to sugar, tobacco, and kratom industry lobbying and funneled work to her lobbyist daughter. The White House, through spokeswoman Allison Schuster, defended its MAHA record and did not directly address the allegations.
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A Raw Story article covers Calley Means, a former aide to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., telling Joe Rogan that key Trump advisers took special-interest money while shaping policy, subordinating policy to midterm fundraising. He names pollster Tony Fabrizio and consultant James Blair, and says Trump himself bears ultimate responsibility.
Former White House health aide accuses Trump advisers of catering to special interests
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Calley Means, a former adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., says he resigned from the Trump administration over alleged internal corruption from a "concentrated group of people," and Axios reports he is among the first ex-officials to speak out about his time there. The article notes Means left two weeks before midterm elections that saw the GOP engulfed by a blue wave.
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ProPublica Event: Making America healthy? Examining the raw claims and real risks of MAHA.propublica.org
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A NOTUS investigation reprinted by Undark finds that the 'Make America Healthy Again' Commission report, written to investigate chronic illness, cites at least seven nonexistent studies alongside broken links, wrong issue numbers, and misstated or mischaracterized findings from real researchers. Cited authors like Katherine Keyes and Harold Farber denied the works, and after the reporting the White House quietly replaced the fabricated citations while press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the problems as 'formatting issues.'
