Among Senate Democrats, concerns are growing that political influence and interference at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) played a role in the removal of Dr. Rick Bright from the helm of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) earlier this month.
In a letter addressed to HHS Secretary Alex Azar, 20 senators also pressed for details on staffing issues linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and possible hindrances in response caused by staff turmoil and turnover. The question of Bright — earlier demoted from his place as director of BARDA to somewhere else in HHS — loomed. Bright himself has raised public concerns over his removal, claiming it was because he resisted efforts to promote hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to treat COVID-19 before they were scientifically tested. He has indicated an intent to file a complaint with the HHS inspector general.
“In the midst of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is of the utmost importance that there be stable leadership within HHS and that decisions are driven by science and the public health,” the senators wrote. “Any leadership changes being made at this time should be executed only to the extent necessary to ensure the Department and its employees are best positioned for the COVID-19 response. Our response to this crisis cannot be steady if its leadership is being constantly shuffled and if experts are being constrained or removed when they insist on following the science and sticking to the facts.”
Other concerning actions have included the reassignment of a senior Health Department official for concerns raised about lack of protections for staff receiving people repatriated from Wuhan, China, the hushing of experts leading response efforts and another incident where someone with no public health management or medical experience was given a key leadership position in COVID-19 response efforts.
“If employees believe they cannot speak up without facing reprisal, that could have a profound chilling effect – deterring employees from providing critical information about the virus and potentially harming efforts to find effective treatments or develop a vaccine,” the senators wrote. “Further, if the American people perceive the information coming from their government as political, they could be less likely to follow public health guidance. Any actions to politicize or silence the civil service put lives at risk.”
Among other things, they have asked that HHS outline what mechanisms are in place to guarantee political and ideological influence cannot impact response, upcoming changes in leadership, and the reasons for Bright’s removal.