Scientist removed as director of federal agency working on coronavirus vaccine to file whistleblower complaint

Attorneys for Rick Bright, the federal scientist who once led the department leading coronavirus vaccine development, said on Thursday he is filing a whistleblower complaint, alleging that he was ousted because he did not promote a drug treatment touted by President Trump.

Bright was removed on Tuesday as director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, and given a job at the National Institutes of Health with fewer responsibilities. Bright's lawyers said they will file formal complaints with the inspector general of the Health and Human Services Department and the federal Office of Special Counsel, which will detail "the retaliatory treatment to which he was subjected by HHS political leadership after raising appropriate science-based concerns about White House pressure on treatment and vaccines related to the COVID-19 pandemic."

The filings will also "make clear that Dr. Bright was sidelined for one reason only — because he resisted efforts to provide unfettered access to potentially dangerous drugs, including chloroquine, a drug promoted by the administration as a panacea, but which is untested and possibly deadly when used improperly. The facts and concerns raised by Dr. Bright are compelling and well-documented and soon they will be public."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up

Bright released a statement on Wednesday saying he believes he was removed as director after he made it known he felt "the billions of dollars allocated by Congress to address the COVID-19 pandemic" should be put "into safe and scientifically vetted solutions, and not in drugs, vaccines, and other technologies that lack scientific merit." When asked about this by reporters, Trump said he had never heard of Bright.