DeLauro Statement on BARDA Director Reassignment

WASHINGTON, DC —(April 22, 2020) Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), today released the following statement after Dr. Rick Bright, Director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), was dismissed from his position and reassigned to a narrower role at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

"The Trump administration's reassignment of BARDA Director Rick Bright is authoritarian, anti-science, and could have long-lasting and deadly effects for the American public. BARDA's work is more critical than ever given the COVID-19 pandemic. President Trump is not a doctor, a scientist, or a medical professional in any possible meaning of those words. So, the notion that he and his political appointees are making personnel decisions based on how effective the President thinks drugs like chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine will be—instead of based on qualifications and empirical evidence like clinical trials—is completely unacceptable."

"Thousands of Americans are dying every single day, and we need steady leadership informed by our best and brightest medical and scientific professionals. The Congress has appropriated billions in funding to BARDA through our recent coronavirus response packages in order to develop therapeutics, vaccines, and diagnostics aimed at saving as many lives as possible quickly. I wholeheartedly agree with Dr. Bright's forthcoming request for the HHS Inspector General to investigate the politicization of BARDA's work, and I urge President Trump to reverse this decision immediately."

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