Calley Means

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Calley Means
Calley Means (54234583448) (cropped).jpg
Born (1985-09-28) September 28, 1985 (age 39)
Education
Occupations
  • health activist
  • lobbyist (2024-present)
  • author
Employer Federal government of the United States (2024–present)
Relatives Casey Means (sister)

Calley Means (born September 28, 1985) is an American lobbyist [1] and entrepreneur serving as a special government employee (SGE) for the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) since 2025. [2] [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Calley and his younger sister Casey Means were raised in Washington, D.C. He attended Stanford University, where he studied political science and economics, and earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard University. [3]

Career

Means served as a White House intern during the second term of George W. Bush. He also interned for the Heritage Foundation before working as a consultant. He describes his experiences as a consultant on behalf of the food and pharmaceutical industries as his inspiration to fight against conflicts of interest within health regulatory bodies. [3] While Means has described himself as a lobbyist, he has never registered as a lobbyist in the USA. [4] Calley and Casey Means co-authored the 2024 book Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health. [5]

In 2022, Means founded Truemed, which enables tax-advantaged medical spending (i.e., flexible spending accounts (FSAs), health savings accounts (HSAs)) on health and wellness products and provides letters of medical necessity to qualify for eligible items. [6] Media reports have alleged that Truemed's business model may not comply with Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulation and that Means may have a conflict of interest in his role in the Department of Health and Human Services. Means has denied both assertions. [6] [7] [8] [9] Means leads the lobbying organization End Chronic Disease, a coalition of executives from top wellness companies which was founded in 2024. End Chronic Disease advocates for policies to allow pre-tax medical spending funds to pay for health and wellness products. [1]

Means caught the attention of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after appearing on a February 2024 episode of The Tucker Carlson Show . [10] Both Means siblings advised Kennedy on healthcare policy during his presidential bid, eventually becoming surrogates for Kennedy's Make America Healthy Again platform within the Donald Trump 2024 presidential campaign. [3] [11] Means is credited with facilitating the Trump-Kennedy partnership, having arranged a call between the two candidates in July 2024 after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania. [12]

Means co-authored a book with his sister Casey Means titled Good Energy, which helped them get a spot on The Tucker Carlson Show , as well as podcasts such as The Joe Rogan Experience , The Rubin Report , and The Doctor’s Farmacy with Mark Hyman . Means and Casey also participated in a live-stream from Washington, D.C. hosted by Senator Ron Johnson: American Health and Nutrition: A Second Opinion. [13]

Personal life

In 2017, Means married Leslie Voorhees. [14] The couple moved from San Francisco to Tempe, Arizona in 2022. [15] That same year, his mother died of pancreatic cancer. [16]

Means identifies as politically conservative. According to The Wall Street Journal , he initially described himself as a "Never Trumper" before deciding that the policy goals of Kennedy and Trump aligned. [10]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Oprysko, Caitlin; Fuchs, Hailey (2024-06-27). "Wellness execs pitch their industry to address chronic disease". POLITICO. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  2. ↑ "Calley Means joins White House as a special government employee, will assist with MAHA policies".
  3. 1 2 3 4 Cueto, Isabella. "With boost from RFK Jr. and Tucker Carlson, two chronic disease entrepreneurs vault into Trump's orbit". STAT. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  4. ↑ Eban, Katherine (2025-05-30). "The Dizzying Rise of MAHA Warrior Calley Means, RFK Jr.'s Right-Hand Man". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  5. ↑ Stone, Will. "In 'Good Energy,' a doctor lays out how to measure and boost your metabolic health". NPR. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  6. 1 2 "A Kennedy Aide's Start-Up Can Get You a Tax Break on a $9,000 Sauna". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  7. ↑ "Takeaways from AP's report on financial interests of RFK Jr. adviser who runs wellness platform". Associated Press. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  8. ↑ "Why the IRS doesn't believe your doctor's note for tax-free health items". Washington Post. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  9. ↑ "Wellness CEO files ethics complaint against top RFK Jr. adviser". Politico. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  10. 1 2 Peterson, Kristina; Whyte, Liz Essley. "The Siblings Behind RFK Jr.'s 'Make America Healthy Again' Campaign". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  11. ↑ Sullivan, Peter; Knight, Victoria. "Calley Means on the MAHA movement". Axios. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  12. ↑ O'Brien, Rebecca Davis; Swan, Jonathan; Haberman, Maggie. "How Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Unlikely Partnership Took Shape". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  13. ↑ Jarry, Jonathan. "Kennedy's Coalition of Quacks Wants to Feed America a Diet of Lies". McGill Office of Science and Society. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  14. ↑ "Leslie Voorhees Calley Means". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  15. ↑ Vanek, Corina. "Destination Arizona". Phoenix Business Journal. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  16. ↑ "About". Truemed. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
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