By Ahmed Aboulenein

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Calley Means, a close aide to U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is taking a permanent post in the Trump administration, the Department of Health and Human Services said on Tuesday.

Means, 40, served as an adviser in the Trump White House from March to October this year as a special government employee and has been particularly active in the Kennedy-led "Make America Healthy Again" movement.

"I confirm Calley Means has been hired at HHS as a senior adviser supporting food and nutrition policy," a department spokesperson said.

The Wall Street Journal first reported his role being made permanent. Means is expected to serve as a bridge between the MAHA movement and President Donald Trump's broader Make America Great Again coalition, the Journal reported.

The HHS spokesperson said Means, an entrepreneur and former food industry lobbyist, will be divesting from his company, Truemed, which works with doctors to certify the medical necessity of advanced health technologies and wellness programs, enabling customers to qualify for tax breaks.

His sister Casey, also a close Kennedy ally, is Trump's nominee for U.S. Surgeon General. The Senate health committee postponed her confirmation hearing last month after the 37-year-old wellness influencer went into labor.

(Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein in Washington and Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona and Bill Berkrot)