Calley Means says he has "spiritual mandate" to reform U.S. health system
Why it matters: The former health influencer turned White House aide has become an ally of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who shares his disillusionment with the U.S. medical system.
Kennedy "has a spiritual mandate" from voters "to reform our broken institution," Means told Axios' Maya Goldman.
Zoom in:"I'm in the party of Elon Musk, who saw an environmental catastrophe that everyone on the left was complaining about for years and years and years, and has become the greatest environmentalist in the history of modern civilization," Means said.
Catch up quick: Means was tapped in March to become a "special government employee" and implement the Trump administration's plan to address chronic illness.
He's specifically focused on food policy.
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Los Angeles Times
23 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
‘He's trying to rig the election.' Newsom bashes Trump as redistricting campaign kicks off
SACRAMENTO — Moments after California lawmakers passed a plan designed to undercut attempts by the president and fellow Republicans to keep control of Congress, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state's proposed partisan redistricting that favors Democrats is a necessary counterweight to President Trump's threat to American democracy. Trump's assault on vote by mail and decision to send the military into U.S. cities are evidence of his authoritarian policies, and California must do its part to keep him in check, Newsom said. By deploying federal immigration agents in roving street raids and activating thousands of members of the National Guard in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., Newsom said, Trump is amassing 'a private army for Donald Trump.' 'He's trying to rig the election, he's trying to set up the conditions where he can claim that the elections were not won fair and square,' Newsom said. 'Open your eyes to what is going on in the United States of America in 2025.' The argument is a preview of the messaging for the ballot measure campaign that Newsom and his Democratic Party allies will be running over the next 74 days. On Thursday, California lawmakers signed off on a Nov. 4 special election that will put partisan redistricting in front of California voters. The ballot measure, called Proposition 50, will ask voters to discard the congressional boundaries drawn by the state's independent redistricting commission in 2021 in favor of partisan districts that could boot as many as five California Republicans out of Congress. 'When all things are equal, and we're all playing by the same set of rules,' Newsom said, 'there's no question that the Republican Party will be the minority party in the House of Representatives next year.' California is 'responding to what occurred in Texas, we're neutralizing what occurred, and we're giving the American people a fair chance,' Newsom said. National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina accused Newsom of trying to 'rig' the system to advance his own political career. 'Instead of fixing the homelessness, crime, drug, and cost crises crushing the Golden State, Gavin Newsom is tearing up California's Constitution to advance his presidential ambitions,' Hudson said in a statement. California's new lines would neutralize efforts in Texas to redraw their congressional district maps to help elect five more GOP candidates in 2026. The Texas Legislature is expected to approve new district lines this week. The other option, Newsom said, is for California and Democrats to 'roll over and do nothing.' 'I think people all across the country are going to campaign here in California for this,' Newsom said. 'They recognize what's at stake. It's not just about the state of California. It's about the United States of America. It's about rigging the election. It's about completely gutting the rules.' Times staff writer Seema Mehta contributed to this report.
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Trump administration is reviewing all 55 million foreigners with US visas for any violations
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said Thursday it is reviewing more than 55 million people who have valid U.S. visas for any violations that could lead to deportation, part of a growing crackdown on foreigners who are permitted to be in the United States. In a written answer to a question from The Associated Press, the State Department said all U.S. visa holders, which can include tourists from many countries, are subject to 'continuous vetting,' with an eye toward any indication they could be ineligible for permission to enter or stay in the United States. Should such information be found, the visa will be revoked, and if the visa holder is in the United States, he or she would be subject to deportation. Since President Donald Trump took office, his administration has focused on deporting migrants illegally in the United States as well as holders of student and visitor exchange visas. The State Department's new language suggests that the continual vetting process, which officials acknowledge is time-consuming, is far more widespread and could mean even those approved to be in the U.S. could abruptly see those permissions revoked. There were 12.8 million green-card holders and 3.6 million people in the U.S. on temporary visas last year, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The 55 million figure suggests that some people subject to review would currently be outside the United States with multiple-entry tourist visas, said Julia Gelatt, associate director of the U.S. immigration policy program at the Migration Policy Institute. She questioned the value of spending resources on people who may never return to the United States. The State Department said it was looking for indicators of ineligibility, including people staying past the authorized timeframe outlined in a visa, criminal activity, threats to public safety, engaging in any form of terrorist activity or providing support to a terrorist organization. 'We review all available information as part of our vetting, including law enforcement or immigration records or any other information that comes to light after visa issuance indicating a potential ineligibility,' the department said. No more worker visas for commercial truck drivers The U.S. also will stop issuing worker visas for commercial truck drivers, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday on X. He said the change was effective immediately. 'The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers,' Rubio posted. The Trump administration in the past months has taken steps to enforce the requirement that truckers speak and read English proficiently. The Transportation Department said the aim is to improve road safety following incidents in which drivers' ability to read signs or speak English may have contributed to traffic deaths. The State Department said later Thursday it was pausing the processing of these work visas to review its 'screening and vetting protocols.' 'Ensuring that every driver on our roads meets the highest standards is important to protecting the livelihoods of American truckers and maintaining a secure, resilient supply chain,' the department said. Edward Alden, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said foreign workers have helped address a labor shortage of commercial truck drivers. 'This action should be seen as part of a concerted effort by the administration to discourage American companies and other institutions like universities and hospitals from hiring and retaining foreign workers,' Alden wrote in an email. "The goal here is not to target specific classes of workers, but to send the message to American employers that they are at risk if they are employing foreign workers. The economic consequences will be far larger than just visas being stripped from foreign workers in a few job categories.' New review of all visa holders is a major expansion The administration has steadily imposed more restrictions and requirements on visa applicants, including requiring them to submit to in-person interviews. The review of all visa holders appears to be a significant expansion of what had initially been a process focused mainly on students who have been involved in what the government perceives as pro-Palestinian or anti-Israel activity. Officials say the reviews will include all visa holders' social media accounts, law enforcement and immigration records in their home countries, along with any actionable violations of U.S. law committed while they were in the United States. The reviews will include new tools for data collection on past, present and future visa applicants, including a complete scouring of social media sites made possible by new requirements introduced earlier this year. Those make it mandatory for privacy switches on cellphones and other electronic devices or apps to be turned off when an applicant appears for a visa interview. 'As part of the Trump Administration's commitment to protect U.S. national security and public safety, since Inauguration Day the State Department has revoked more than twice as many visas, including nearly four times as many student visas, as during the same time period last year,' the State Department said. The vast majority of foreigners seeking to come to the U.S. require visas, especially those who want to study or work for extended periods. Among the exceptions for short-term tourist or business visits are citizens of the 40 mainly European and Asian countries belonging to the Visa Waiver Program, which grants those nationals a stay of up to three months without having to apply for a visa. But large swaths of the world — including highly populated countries like China, India, Indonesia, Russia and most of Africa — are not part of the program, meaning their citizens must apply for and receive visas to travel to the United States. Earlier this week, the department said that since Trump returned to the White House, it has revoked more than 6,000 student visas for overstays and violations of local, state and federal law, the vast majority of which were assault, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and support for terrorism. It said about 4,000 of those 6,000 were due to actual infractions of laws and that approximately 200 to 300 visas were revoked for terrorism-related issues, including providing support for designated terrorist organizations or state sponsors of terrorism. ___ Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed. ___
an hour ago
Trump suggests Ukraine 'play offensive' as Russia downplays prospect of Putin-Zelenskyy summit
Amid Russian resistance to his peacemaking efforts, President Donald Trump on Thursday appeared to suggest Ukraine go on the offensive militarily. In a post to his social media platform, Trump criticized former President Joe Biden's approach to the conflict, claiming Biden "would not let Ukraine FIGHT BACK, only DEFEND." "It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invaders country. It's like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defense, but is not allowed to play offensive. There is no chance of winning!" Trump wrote. Biden last year reversed a long-standing policy and authorized Ukraine to use American-supplied ATACM long-range missiles to strike inside of Russia, but before that the administration had blocked strikes inside of Russia, only allowing the Ukrainian military to use shorter-range missiles to strike in Ukrainian territory seized by Russia. Trump long opposed allowing Ukraine to strike Russia, heavily criticizing Biden for authorizing it and as President he has appeared to discourage it as escalatory. But Trump has recently taken an interest in the possibility of Ukrainian strikes deep into Russia. has taken interest in the possibility of Ukrainian strikes deep into Russia. The White House confirmed July reports that Trump discussed with Zelenskyy whether Ukraine would be able to strike St. Petersburg and Moscow with U.S.-supplied weapons. But the White House insisted that Trump was "asking a question, not encouraging further killing." It is unclear whether Trump is hinting at any policy change on U.S. support for Ukraine with his post on Thursday, though he did write at the end: "Interesting times ahead!!!" Trump's post came as Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, downplays the prospect of a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the coming weeks. The White House said this week Putin "promised" to sit-down with Zelenskyy, but Russia has not confirmed. In remarks on Thursday, Lavrov said a meeting between the two leaders could only take place once all major components of a peace agreement are worked out. 'Our president has repeatedly said that he is ready to meet, including with Mr. Zelenskyy, on the understanding that all issues requiring consideration at the highest level will be thoroughly worked out and experts and ministers will prepare appropriate recommendations," Lavrov said. Such conditions appeared to make a meeting in the near future very Putin, Lavrov sought to cast Zelenskyy as an illegitimate leader, saying when "it comes to signing future agreements, the question of the legitimacy of the person signing these agreements on the Ukrainian side will be resolved." Putin has taken to not mentioning Zelenskyy by name, instead giving his government the moniker "Kyiv regime." Lavrov also continued to insist Russia have a role in any security guarantees for Ukraine post-war. He rejected the European-led discussions as "futile." While Trump projected optimism on Monday on peace talks, he's now saying he'll know whether a deal can be made in "two weeks." "Well, I'll let you know in about, I would say within two weeks, we're going to know one way or the other. After that, we'll have to maybe take a different tack, but we'll see, but we'll know pretty soon," Trump said during an interview with radio host Todd Starnes. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy is accusing Russia of trying to "wriggle out" of a meeting. "Right now, the signals coming from Russia are, to be honest, simply indecent. They are trying to wriggle out of the need to hold a meeting. They do not want to end this war. They continue massive attacks against Ukraine and extremely intense assaults on the front line. And on top of that, they are launching missiles at an American enterprise -- just like they do at many of our other completely civilian targets." Zelenskyy said he will continue diplomatic discussions with partners and encouraged greater pressure on Russia to end the war, which began when Putin's forces invaded Ukraine in Feb. 2022. "Each day now adds more shape to the future security architecture for Ukraine: weapons, funding, cooperation with our partners, forces on land, in the air, and at sea," Zelenskyy said on Thursday.
