Former White House chief of staff Susie Wiles has come under fire after a former aide to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. alleged in an interview Sunday that Wiles' lobbying firm, Ballard Partners, controlled the White House. Now, CBS News is reporting her firm cashed in $186 million during Trump's first two years in office.
Calley Means told "Face the Nation" on Sunday that the White House prioritized specific industries and corporations, like the sugar industry and big tobacco, while ignoring the president's "Make America Healthy Again" agenda.
Means alleged Wiles blocked efforts to address issues like children’s sugar consumption because she needed donations from the industry for Republicans in the 2026 midterms. Meanwhile, her lobbying firm also pushed the pesticide glyphosate and worked on the approval of fruit-flavored vapes that capture new, young smokers.
The firm's huge profits "did not happen by accident," Means alleged.
Means, who resigned in October, also said Kennedy's anti-tobacco agenda ultimately stalled. Wiles and "her deputies were still relentlessly pushing HHS to find a pathway for fruit-flavored vapes," he said.
Big tobacco scored big in May "with new guidance that could let major tobacco companies sell flavored vapes," the CBS report said.
Brian Ballard, Wiles' partner, was a huge fundraiser for Trump. He explained in a statement Sunday that the firm's interactions with Wiles as chief of staff "have been limited and have been the exception, not the rule."
"Ballard Partners' more than $88 million in lobbying revenue last year was, at the time, the most any firm had reported since the Lobbying Disclosure Act took effect in 1996, even after adjusting for inflation," the CBS report said, citing an analysis of Senate lobbying disclosures. "Through the first three quarters of 2026, the firm has already surpassed that, reporting more than $98 million."
The money lobbying firms earn can change depending on the administration in power. Ballard Partners' close relationship to Trump through Wiles and Ballard would likely attract companies trying to win government contracts or influence regulations.
For a short time, Ballard was banned from the White House over its cryptocurrency lobbying, which reportedly irked officials. After helping raise $50 million for Trump's 2024 campaign, Ballard signed up "hundreds of clients, though its relationship with the administration," CBS News reported.
Axios reported that Ballard was ultimately able to clean up the relationships by May 2025, allowing him access to the White House again.
Top Wiles aide James Blair, was another target of Means, who said that the former deputy chief of staff was "relentless on helping the fruit-flavored vape industry."
Blair denied this online and to CBS, saying he did nothing of the sort and that his goal was to fast-track the FDA's rulings on "nicotine product applications."
"Calley is intentionally misrepresenting my role and my responsibility because he opposes the issue entirely," Blair added.
Trump's longtime pollster Tony Fabrizio was another Means attacked publicly, saying that he was helping pharmaceutical companies. Fabrizio called the allegations "ridiculous" and "demonstrably false."
One major problem for the Trump administration is that a key issue that helped usher in the so-called "blue tsunami" in the 2026 election came from those who addressed Washington corruption in their campaigns. Americans identified it as one of the top three most important issues in the six months leading up to the election.
"The Democrats are going to start investigations as soon as they're sworn in, and White House fighting about who was making money will just elevate the topic," commented Marc Short, who served as former Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff.
The feud has certainly drawn the attention of Congress. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calf.), the incoming chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said he will look into all of the claims around Wiles and others.
Attorney General Todd Blanche said that Means was nothing more than a "disgruntled former administration official." He made it clear that he has no intention of investigating Wiles or other administration employees. He told CNN's Dana Bash over the weekend that Means' allegations were merely "something that someone says on a podcast."
