WATCH: Whistleblower refutes Trump claim that virus was under control in February

Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., asked vaccine expert Rick Bright about the timeline of his efforts to raise concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. Welch also questioned how many lives would have been saved if Trump administration officials acted with more urgency earlier. “[In February,] President Trump gave an assurance that the stock market is starting to look very good and the coronavirus was very much under control. Were you aware of any medically involved people who had the view that the coronavirus at that time was very much under control?” Welch asked. “No sir, I don’t think the virus was under control and I don’t think many people would agree,” Bright said. The former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, Bright testified on Thursday before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s health subcommittee in a hearing dedicated to “protecting scientific integrity” of the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. In a whistleblower complaint filed last week, Bright said he was reassigned to a different position in late April for pushing back against the Trump administration’s virus response strategy.

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