Former Trump administration health adviser Calley Means accused former White House chief of staff Susie Wiles on Monday of “executing a systematic strategy to throw President Trump under the bus,” and pointed to a federal lobbying filing that he says undercuts Ballard Partners’ denial that it lobbied the West Wing on the administration’s glyphosate order.
In a post on X at 10:09 a.m. ET, which drew more than 70,000 views within its first hour, Means wrote that Brian Ballard “said in writing he didn’t lobby Susie or White House staff on glyphosate.” Means said Ballard’s own disclosure showed “he personally lobbied the White House in the quarter of the EO’s release,” so Ballard “is either lying or throwing President Trump under the bus.”
Public records confirm the dates Means points to, though not what was discussed or with whom. President Trump signed Executive Order 14387, which invokes the Defense Production Act for elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides, on Feb. 18, 2026. Ballard Partners’ federal lobbying report for that quarter, filed for client Bayer U.S. LLC, lists the White House Office as the only government entity it lobbied and names Brian Ballard as one of two lobbyists.
Ballard denies the charge. In a statement posted Sunday, he wrote: “On glyphosate: No one at Ballard Partners lobbied or communicated with Susie Wiles or anyone in the West Wing, including her Deputy Chiefs of Staff, regarding the Administration’s executive order on glyphosate.”
“I want everyone in the White House to know that Susie is executing a systematic strategy to throw President Trump under the bus.”
Calley Means (@calleymeans), on X, Nov. 9, 2026
What the lobbying filing shows
The order’s Section 3, titled “Immunity,” states that it “confers all immunity provided for in section 707 of the Act.” It was published in the Federal Register on Feb. 23, 2026.
Ballard Partners filed its first-quarter 2026 report for Bayer U.S. LLC on April 14, 2026. The report covers Jan. 1 through March 31, the period in which the order was signed. It reports $90,000 in lobbying income for the quarter.
Under both issue areas it lists, agriculture (AGR) and environment (ENV), the only entity named is the White House Office. The lobbyists listed are Brian Ballard and Daniel McFaul. The report also states that Bayer U.S. LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bayer AG, a foreign company.
Across seven quarterly reports from the first quarter of 2025 through the third quarter of 2026, Ballard Partners has reported $630,000 in lobbying income from Bayer U.S. LLC, $90,000 per quarter. The White House Office was also the only entity listed in the firm’s second- and third-quarter 2026 Bayer reports.
The filing has limits. It does not mention glyphosate, Roundup or the executive order. It describes the issue as communicating “with Members of Congress, staff, and the Administration on the importance of crop protection tools for agricultural purposes, including sustainability benefits.” Lobbying reports do not say which listed lobbyist contacted which office, and this one does not name Wiles or any other official. The White House Office is also a broader category than the “West Wing” named in Ballard’s statement.
Ballard’s statement and the May 2 meeting
Ballard’s Nov. 8 statement, posted by the firm’s X account at 2:55 p.m. ET Sunday, also addressed flavored vapes: “No one at Ballard Partners advocated to Susie Wiles or anyone on the White House staff for the authorization of fruit-flavored vapes.” The phrase “White House staff” that Means used appears in that vape sentence. The glyphosate sentence says “anyone in the West Wing, including her Deputy Chiefs of Staff.”
On access, Ballard wrote: “Regarding Mr. Means’ allegations about access, our firm’s interactions with Susie Wiles as Chief of Staff have been limited and have been the exception, not the rule.” He added that Means “has publicly committed to correct and apologize for any factual error identified to him in writing. This statement identifies two. I expect him to honor that commitment.”
Means replied: “This is a refutation to things I did not say.” He later posted that “Ballard directly lobbied west wing officials on May 2,” attaching a New York Times excerpt reporting that Brian Ballard attended a May 2 meeting. That meeting concerned vaping, not glyphosate.
The firm answered at 8 p.m. ET Sunday: “Calley Means is lying again… The May 2 meeting, which was widely reported in the @nytimes, was a meeting with POTUS, not with Susie Wiles or White House staff.” It added: “Our statement clearly referred to Susie Wiles and White House staff, which is a true and accurate statement of the facts.”
Wiles’ ties to Ballard
Wiles once worked at Ballard Partners. Axios reported Sunday that she “had worked at the company seven years ago.” In May 2025, Axios reported that Ballard had fallen out of favor at the White House after his firm went around regular lobbying channels for a cryptocurrency client, then “scored a meeting with Trump and Wiles.” A source told Axios at the time: “You don’t get a 30-minute meeting with the president and Susie and not have clout.”
Others have weighed in on the broader allegations. Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.) told CNN that any allegation of impropriety like this should be looked at, Axios reported. Former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said in a statement to CBS News: “Big tobacco exploited their connections to administration and HHS officials to put repeated pressure on me to approve fruit-flavored vapes that appeal to children—I wouldn’t do it.” Makary did not name the officials, and his statement concerned vapes, not glyphosate.
Means also posted a screenshot of a Wall Street Journal headline, “With Susie Wiles’s Departure, Big Business Loses a Sympathetic Ear,” writing that Ballard was “trying to argue they haven’t subverted the White House policy process, which is now being fixed.”
Means’ other claims
Monday’s post made several other claims that rest on Means’ word alone:
- Blair’s texts: Means wrote that James Blair, a former White House deputy chief of staff who worked under Wiles, “is angrily texting saying ‘my problem is obviously with President Trump.’” That quote appears only in Means’ post. No outlet has published or confirmed the text, and Politics Elections found no public response from Blair to that specific line.
- Wiles’ texts: Means addressed Wiles directly: “Susie – I’m not intimidated and you will not scare me. Again, please stop sending me emotional texts.” The claim that Wiles has been texting him is Means’ alone, and Politics Elections found no published texts from Wiles.
- A Ballard “public relations campaign”: Means wrote that Ballard is running a campaign “to explicitly defend Susie Wiles and say that President Trump is the sole reason the administration has caved to the tobacco and pesticide industries.” That is Means’ characterization. Ballard’s statement does not say that.
- Corporate influence: Means said Wiles and Ballard are attacking his central claim that she and her allies on K Street put corporate interests ahead of what voters wanted.
He closed by urging current and former officials to “speak to the press about what you saw” so “Stephen Miller and President Trump can solve it.” Trump named Miller to replace Wiles on Friday, as covered in Politics Elections’ analysis of Miller as a wartime chief of staff.
Means described the glyphosate order on The Joe Rogan Experience #2578, released Nov. 6. He said an aide he tied to Wiles presented the order as final, called it a national security matter and told him to inform Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that it was “not up for discussion.” Those private-meeting details are Means’ account. Politics Elections’ breakdown of what Means said about Wiles on Rogan covers that interview in full.
Caputo rejects “stenographer” label
Means’ post quoted Axios reporter Marc Caputo, whom he called “Susie’s stenographer,” over a Sunday post that read in part: “Ballard was a top Trump bundler/fundraiser for a decade” and “Trump answers Ballard’s personal calls.”
Caputo pushed back Monday. “My post was basic, common sense reporting concerning access to Trump and information flow,” he wrote. “It’s not a leak. It’s not stenography. It’s reality.” In a later reply, he wrote that “Yesterday’s story was also basic reporting,” adding, “All were on record” and “Not a hit job.” He also wrote that he has “not made the statement you’re attributing to me in the 1st sentence about a ‘press strategy.’”
Responses and denials
Wiles: A spokesperson for Wiles told Axios: “Calley Means’ accusations are outrageous, defamatory, and provably false. Susie has dedicated her career to fighting for President Trump and the American people, and will not allow these lies to go unanswered.” The statement was given Sunday, before Means’ Monday post.
Blair: In a statement to The Wall Street Journal, Blair said, “The implication of corruption towards me and all the others referenced by Calley is scurrilous, false, and defamatory,” and called Means “a failed political operative and wedding dress salesman,” according to The Daily Beast, which cited the Journal. He also told the Journal he is considering suing Means, the Daily Beast reported.
Blair told CBS News: “I didn’t promote flavored vaping specifically at all.” He told Axios: “The voters elected President Trump. Not me, and not Calley Means,” and “In the White House, I implemented the President’s agenda always.”
Before the feud went public, Blair warned Means in a text message reviewed by The Wall Street Journal: “If you are gonna try to knife me, I’m happy to return the favor.” According to The Daily Beast, citing the Journal, Means replied, “If I said something factually inaccurate about you, please let me know,” and Blair later wrote, “You have actual malice and I can prove harm.”
White House: Spokesperson Allison Schuster told Axios: “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.” The statement did not address the glyphosate claim.
Justice Department: Asked on CNN’s “State of the Union” whether the Justice Department would investigate Means’ allegations, Attorney General Todd Blanche dismissed the idea, saying he does not listen to claims made on a podcast, and praised Wiles, according to Axios.
Earlier Politics Elections coverage
Politics Elections has also reported on the calls for Trump to fire Wiles after the midterm losses and on reports of an Oval Office clash before her exit, which the White House has denied.
