Trump says he's 'never heard of' official leading U.S. coronavirus vaccine effort until abrupt demotion
Dr. Rick Bright, the career government infectious disease scientist who until Tuesday led a federal effort to create a COVID-19 vaccine, said Wednesday he was demoted and moved to the National Institutes of Health for favoring "science — not politics or cronyism," to combat the virus. "Specifically, and contrary to misguided directives, I limited the broad use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, promoted by the administration as a panacea, but which clearly lack scientific merit," he said. President Trump and his allies spent weeks touting hydroxychloroquine but don't anymore.
Asked about Bright's demotion at Wednesday evening's coronavirus press briefing, Trump pleaded ignorance: "I've never heard of him. Guy says he was pushed out of a job, maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. You'd have to hear the other side. I don't know who he is."
The other side, unidentified current and former Health and Human Services Department (HHS) officials tell Politico and The Washington Post, is that Bright had clashed with his boss, Robert Kadlec, the HHS assistant secretary for preparedness and response, and that Bright's ouster had been under discussion for at least a year.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Some HHS officials and outside observers told Politico they believed Bright was moving too slowly and investing in the wrong things, specifically IL-6 inflammation inhibitors. In his statement, Bright alluded to "clashes with HHS political leadership" over his efforts to "invest early in vaccines and supplies critical to saving American lives." Other officials, including Bright's former boss, praised him as a careful scientist and man of integrity.
Bright, a vaccine expert, learned of his move to NIH, where he has been assigned to work on diagnostic tests, when his name was removed from the website of the agency he led, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), after having been frozen out of his email, Politico reports.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Political cartoons for October 26Cartoons Sunday’s editorial cartoons include Young Republicans group chat, Louvre robbery, and more
-
Why Britain is struggling to stop the ransomware cyberattacksThe Explainer New business models have greatly lowered barriers to entry for criminal hackers
-
Greene’s rebellion: a Maga hardliner turns against TrumpIn the Spotlight The Georgia congresswoman’s independent streak has ‘not gone unnoticed’ by the president
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leakSpeed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
Trump begins East Wing demolition for ballroomspeed read The president’s new construction will cost $250 million
-
Appeals court clears Trump’s Portland troop deploymentSpeed Read A divided federal appeals court ruled that President Trump can send the National Guard to Portland
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June
