In testimony Thursday before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, Dr. Richard Bright testified: “Without better planning, 2020 could be the darkest winter.” Bright was ousted back in April from his position as director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. He is one of the nation’s top vaccine experts who, after he was reassigned, filed a whistleblower report. NPR writes he alleges his “reassignment was an act of retaliation by the Trump administration, which had ignored his repeated warnings about the coronavirus.”
During his opening statement (watch above), Bright testified:
“It is painfully clear that we were not as prepared as we should have been. We missed early warning signals and we forgot important pages from our pandemic playbook… Pages from our pandemic playbook were ignored by some in leadership.”
He also shared this warning:
“Our window of opportunity is closing. If we fail to improve our response now, based on science, I fear the pandemic will get far worse … There will be likely a resurgence of Covid-19 this fall.”
Rick Bright: "Our economy is spiraling downward, and our population is being paralyzed by fear stemming from a lack of a coordinated response and a dearth of accurate, clear communication about the path forward" https://t.co/JYg6TXvFVK pic.twitter.com/AyZgfHO7aH
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 14, 2020
Meanwhile just before the hearing began Donald Trump tweeted that Bright “is a disgruntled employee.”
I don’t know the so-called Whistleblower Rick Bright, never met him or even heard of him, but to me he is a disgruntled employee, not liked or respected by people I spoke to and who, with his attitude, should no longer be working for our government!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 14, 2020
This energy and commerce committee hearing with Rick Bright is brutal for the admin. Bright is just dumping all over the TRUMP admin and, since the admin passed, NO ONE is there defending the president.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) May 14, 2020
Here’s CNN with more on “Bright’s stunning assessment on how the Trump administration dropped the ball in battling this deadly virus.”
Ousted vaccine chief says his coronavirus concerns were ignored, costing lives @kaitlancollins reports pic.twitter.com/8tqUByKXZp
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) May 14, 2020