Ousted BARDA ‘Whistleblower’ Rick Bright: I Am Not Disgruntled — ‘I Am Frustrated at a Lack of Leadership’

Rick Bright, the former head of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), proclaimed by some in the media to be a “whistleblower” against the Trump administration, told CBS News that he was not a disgruntled employee.

Instead, he argued that he was “frustrated” with President Donald Trump’s “lack of leadership” amid the coronavirus pandemic.

When asked by reporters about Bright’s ouster, President Trump said, “I never met Dr. Bright. I don’t know who he is. I didn’t hear good things about him. I did not hear good things about him at all. And to me, he seems like a disgruntled employee that’s trying to help the Democrats win an election.”

Norah O’Donnell said, “The president called you a disgruntled employee.”

Bright said, “I am not disgruntled. I am frustrated at a lack of leadership. I am frustrated at a lack of urgency to get a head start on developing lifesaving tools for Americans. I’m frustrated at our inability to be heard as scientists. Those things frustrate me.”

He continued, “We see too many doctors and nurses now dying. And I was thinking that we could have done more to get those masks and those supplies to them sooner. And if we had, would they still be alive today? It’s a horrible thought to think about the time that passed where we could’ve done something, and we didn’t.”

Bright refused to promote the use of two antimalarial drugs, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to treat coronavirus before being removed from his position. He filed a whistleblower complaint against the Trump administration.

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN