Federal watchdog backs reinstating ousted vaccine expert
A federal watchdog is recommending that ousted vaccine expert Rick Bright be reinstated while it investigates whether the Trump administration retaliated against his whistleblower complaints when it removed him from a key post overseeing the coronavirus response, Bright's lawyers said Friday.
The Office of Special Counsel is recommending that Bright be temporarily reinstated for 45 days as director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, a multibillion-dollar agency that funds companies to develop tests, treatments and vaccines.
The investigative office said it has found "reasonable grounds to believe" that that the administration was retaliating against Bright, who worked at BARDA for 10 years before his abrupt demotion in April. Bright alleged in a formal complaint this week that he was ousted because of his clashes with other top health officials and resistance to touting hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus treatment with little science to back it.
"We hope the secretary will grant the Special Counsel’s request and allow Dr. Bright, one of nation’s leading vaccine scientists, to return to his position leading BARDA and serving his country," said his lawyers, Debra Katz and Lisa Banks.
Katz and Banks noted that it is "a common occurrence" for agencies to agree to the watchdog's request for stays on personnel moves as it investigates. In the last fiscal year, OSC obtained 31 stays from agencies through negotiation and in 2018, it obtained 47 stays. It obtained 45 stays in 2017.
President Donald Trump, during a White House appearance, called Bright a “disgruntled employee” when asked about the watchdog decision.
“I don’t know who he is, but to me he’s a disgruntled employee and if people are that unhappy they shouldn’t work," he said, adding, "I hadn’t heard great things about him.”
Bright later Friday told CBS News in an interview he was retaliated against, "to decapitate the BARDA organization" during a pandemic, adding, "it is not responsible" and "didn't make sense."
"I am not disgruntled," Bright said. "I am frustrated at a lack of leadership."
