White House officials worry the health secretary’s plans could cover most food in U.S. grocery stores Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s efforts to revamp America’s food system have hit their biggest hurdle yet: The White House. Two years ago, the Trump campaign joined forces with Kennedy, embracing his ambition to wage war on chronic disease.

But concerns about whether his ideas on food are even feasible have prompted clashes within the administration, casting uncertainty over a once potent political agenda that drew support from millions of voters. At a July meeting convened by senior White House officials, tensions were running high. Up for discussion was a definition of ultraprocessed food—a wonky but critical part of Kennedy’s plans to overhaul the U.S. food supply—and whether it should undergo a layer of further review by White House staff.

The definition that health officials pushed for: Processed food should be considered ultraprocessed if it contains ingredients such as artificial colors, nonnutritive sweeteners or chemical preservatives, with key exemptions, according to people familiar with the matter and a document viewed by The Wall Street Journal. White House staffers were concerned that definition could cover the vast majority of food in U.S. grocery stores and support existing efforts to sue food companies over bad health outcomes. One of Kennedy’s top aides, Calley Means, accused White House officials of trying to block the definition to cater to special interests, some of the people said.

Means, a fiery influencer and wellness author, raised his voice and repeatedly asked why the definition required further review, saying it wasn’t open for further debate. He said Kennedy’s health department had already worked on it for months and had vetted it with scientists. In response, White House officials highlighted concerns that the definition could be exploited by the plaintiffs’ bar and be grounds for a lawsuit against the government.

They also pointed to its potential impact on the food industry and international trade agreements. The internal discord has stalled three separate efforts to curb the country’s reliance on ultraprocessed foods, a cornerstone of Kennedy’s agenda to remake the U.S. food supply. Means has mounted an expansive effort to roll out policies in Trump’s second term, saying the administration needs to deliver for its “Make America Healthy Again” supporters.

White House officials have often viewed him as overly aggressive, pushing policies that aren’t feasible and unwilling to compromise to make them more achievable, officials said. Means complained in other meetings that he believed some White House officials were behaving like it was their job to help food industry lobbyists work against Kennedy’s agenda, one person said. The outcome of the July meeting: White House officials decided that the ultraprocessed food definition would go through further review, people familiar with the decision said.