Dr. Rick Bright, the ousted federal official who was formerly leading coronavirus vaccine development, on Thursday delivered testimony before Congress that, according to Fox News' Bret Baier, may be "politically damaging" for President Trump.
Bright testified before Congress after filing a whistleblower complaint alleging "cronyism" at the Department of Health and Human Services after being removed as director of its Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. In addition to urging the federal government to ramp up its response to the coronavirus pandemic to prevent more lives from being lost, he alleged in his testimony that the administration was not adequately prepared for the pandemic and that warnings from experts like him were "overlooked" as "pages from our pandemic playbook were ignored by some in leadership."
"This is significant testimony today," Baier said on Fox News. "He does have a lot of experience, and he's telling a story about not being prepared for this pandemic. This is potentially politically damaging for the president."
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.
Trump has dismissed Bright as just a "disgruntled employee," but Bright, Baier said, "is not discredited easily." The Fox News host added the testimony, which was of "substance," can be seized on by Democrats as an example of Trump "dropping the ball" on the crisis.
Bright has alleged he was removed from his position in part because he wouldn't back the Trump-touted hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment, and the Office of Special Counsel recently found "reasonable grounds" to believe his ouster was retaliatory.
-
Testosterone therapy in women highlights the lack of women’s health researchThe explainer There is no FDA-approved testosterone product for women
-
Magazine solutions - November 7, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - November 7, 2025
-
Magazine printables - November 7, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - November 7, 2025
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
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
