White House Staffers Undermined Pesticide Reform Over ‘National Security,’ Former MAHA Adviser Alleges

By Daily Caller News Foundation (/journals/dcnf)

During an appearance on the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast released Friday, a former adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed White House staffers countered his efforts to investigate a major pesticide.

“I was called into a room, and [former Chief of Staff] Susie [Wiles]’s person, [Assistant to the President for Policy] Walker Barrett, was there, and he puts an executive order down on the desk and he says, ‘Please review,’ and it was the glyphosate EO [executive order] that says it’s a national security issue,” Calley Means told Joe Rogan during the interview. He also described backlash he allegedly faced from pharmaceutical lobbies for encouraging the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to investigate the pesticide.

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The Feb. 18 executive order claimed glyphosate-based herbicides play a “critical role” in America’s “agricultural advantage” and tasked the secretary of agriculture with “ensuring a continued and adequate supply” of them.

“And I will tell you,” Means continued, “the secretary of war, the major generals … they don’t see our lack of glyphosate on U.S. farms as a national security issue, and the EO was all about farming … all about glyphosate.”

Means also claimed Barrett told him the executive order “was final” and to tell Kennedy “this is not up for discussion.” Wiles allegedly later called Kennedy’s office to affirm the directive.

He also alleged Heidi Overton — who later became Trump’s nominee for FDA commissioner of food and drugs — worked with the Department of Justice to encourage the Supreme Court to take a case which would give global life science company Bayer Global legal immunity from pesticide lawsuits. This, Means alleged, was done without consulting Kennedy.

The Supreme Court ruled June 25 that Bayer had immunity against thousands of lawsuits alleging its warning labels failed to warn consumers of glyphosate’s potential cancer risks.

“Have you spoken to Trump about this?” Rogan asked his guest.

“I, seeing this work out, had a strong suspicion that this was happening under his nose,” Means replied. “And we had a meeting with him and Bobby [Kennedy] and some other folks, and a farmer who was there — a regenerative farmer — brought it up, and President Trump reacted to the Supreme Court decision, saying ‘It’s a terrible idea. How the hell did this happen?'”

Means, who reportedly brokered the alliance between Trump and Kennedy ahead of the 2024 presidential election, resigned from the White House on Oct. 22.

“After years of being on the political sidelines, the MAHA coalition has found a champion in President Trump, who has made incredible strides to Make America Healthy Again,” White House Spokeswoman Allison Schuster told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The Administration has already secured extensive victories for the MAHA Agenda, including overhauling the dietary guidelines for Americans, axing artificial ingredients in our food supply, and investing in regenerative farming. President Trump and Secretary Kennedy continue to work around the clock to deliver more wins for the American people.”

A White House official likewise told the DCNF in the statement that “Susie Wiles has been an essential leader in Making America Healthy Again.”

Means’s appearance on the podcast aired the same day Trump announced National Homeland Security Adviser Stephen Miller as Wiles’s replacement, becoming White House chief of staff, effective Nov. 9.