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Calley Means, a top adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., stood firm this week against critics of the Trump administration’s massive cuts to federal health agencies. Speaking at POLITICO’s Health Care Summit, Means declared the Department of Health and Human Services an “utter failure” after decades of skyrocketing chronic disease rates and declining life expectancy. He argued that bloated bureaucracy and pharmaceutical industry control have left Americans sicker than ever—and that bold action is long overdue.
Means didn’t hold back. He accused groups like the American Medical Association of running a “conspiracy to keep Americans sick” through overmedication and ignoring root causes like diet and lifestyle. “How can anyone defend a system where 70% of kids’ diets are ultraprocessed junk?” he asked. “We spend four times more on healthcare than Italy but die seven years younger. That’s not innovation—that’s failure.”
The cuts, part of President Trump’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, eliminate roughly 25% of HHS staff and $9 billion in grants. Means called this a necessary first step to drain the swamp of career bureaucrats and industry lobbyists. “This isn’t about attacking science—it’s about freeing science from corporate capture,” he said, praising new FDA and NIH leaders like Dr. Marty Makary for prioritizing patients over profits.
Opponents—including Democratic lawmakers and public health unions—fired back, claiming the layoffs will cripple disease tracking and vaccine programs. But Means dismissed these fears as elitist fearmongering. “Since when did measles outbreaks start because we didn’t have enough government paper-pushers?” he shot back. “The same people crying about ‘disruption’ are the ones who gave us an obesity epidemic and kids on twelve medications by age 18.”
The administration points to wins like four new VA clinics opening in Virginia, New York, and Montana as proof their strategy works. Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins emphasized that streamlining bureaucracy lets them reinvest savings directly into care. “We’re proving that less red tape means better services,” he said, noting wait times are dropping despite a 15% staff reduction.
Looking ahead, Means vowed the reforms will tackle “taboo” issues like vaccine safety assessments and reducing Big Pharma’s influence over medical guidelines. “Real change starts with admitting our food supply and prescription culture are making us sick,” he said. “MAHA moms didn’t elect us to keep doing the same old thing.”
Mainstream media coverage has focused heavily on layoffs while ignoring America’s health crisis. Networks like CNBC, Means noted, air “non-stop Pharma infomercials” instead of discussing solutions. “They’d rather protect drug ad revenue than ask why our kids are the unhealthiest in the world,” he said.
Despite the backlash, Means remains confident. “Liberation Day is here,” he declared. “For the first time, we have leaders brave enough to take on the lobbyists and put families first. The best is yet to come.”
