RFK Jr. Adviser 'Raised His Voice' With White House Staff in Heated Label Debate: Sources

In a July meeting, Calley Means, a top aide to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., “raised his voice” with White House staff as he pressed them on how the administration will define “ultraprocessed foods," according to a publication.

The dispute was over Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again supporters and the White House, who are both clashing over his efforts to remake the United States food system.

Senior White House officials held a July meeting on whether Kennedy’s proposed definition of “ultraprocessed” required an additional round of review.

A publication reported that under the proposed definition, processed foods that contain additives such as artificial colors, nonnutritive sweeteners or chemical preservatives would be considered “ultraprocessed” unless exempt from this designation.

According to another source, Means said the proposed definition wasn’t up for further discussion and that the health department had spent months vetting it with scientists. Means also said some White House staff acted as if they were working to help food-industry lobbyists undermine Kennedy’s agenda.

Some White House employees feared this new definition of “ultraprocessed” would apply to most of the food available at U.S. grocery stores.

The employees worried it could bolster lawsuits against large food manufacturers such as Coca-Cola, WK Kellogg and Mars, which allege the companies knowingly made harmful products.

Administration staff has begun to see Means as overly aggressive and unwilling to compromise on what they believe are unrealistic policy proposals, according to reports.

Kennedy appointed Means as a senior adviser in late 2025. He is also the brother of wellness influencer Casey Means, whom President Donald Trump nominated for surgeon general in 2025.

After the July meeting, the White House determined it needed to review the definition further. Robert's team believed it had received permission to release the new definition, so in preparation for the announcement, the health department scheduled a launch event at its headquarters in August.

Employees placed posters with pictures of “artificial food dye as a monster” at the health department’s headquarters. The event was canceled, and some White House officials reportedly did not know that the health department had planned to announce the definition.

At the end of August, Calley and Heidi Overton, whom Donald nominated to head the FDA, tried to have the definition announced again, but the White House blocked it.

Calley has also clashed with government officials over school lunch programs. Earlier in 2026, the U.S. Department of Agriculture prepared regulations regarding school meal programs that were expected to cost school districts about $2 billion over five years. The rules would further limit sugar, increase protein content, and require 100 percent whole-grain products, and these changes would nearly quadruple costs.

At one point during a meeting to discuss the proposed rules, Calley became “visibly frustrated” and said that if the administration did not implement the stricter changes, it would look like it was “OK with poisoning kids,” according to a report.

“The White House has repeatedly taken on special interests and broken processes to deliver effective and legally durable MAHA policies,” said Kush Desai, a White House spokesman.

“The entire Trump administration continues to work closely with stakeholders and industry leaders to continue overhauling our country’s food and updating nutritional guidance,” he added.