Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) called former Dr. Rick Bright’s allegations about his ousting “serious,” before declaring that they “deserve an investigation,” Thursday during Bright’s hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Bright, former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), filed a whistleblower complaint after he was ousted from his position, which claimed he was kicked out because of “his objections and resistance to funding potentially dangerous drugs promoted by those with political connections and by the Administration itself.”

“We should be conducting rigorous oversight of the trillions of dollars and myriad of policies Congress appropriated and enacted in the last three months,” said Walden during the hearing, “and we should be investigating, really investigating allegations like Dr. Bright’s that raise concern about our nation’s coronavirus response.”

“Dr. Bright, your allegations are serious. They deserve a real investigation,” he continued. “I know the Office of Special Counsel, with whom you filed your complaint, will do just that, and I know they take their work seriously and will hear you out. And importantly, we’ll give those named in your complaint an opportunity to have their side heard as well.”

During the hearing, Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) also made similar remarks, declaring, “Every whistleblower deserves to be heard. Dr. Bright has raised serious allegations, and they deserve investigation.”

“Whistleblowers must have their rights protected and deserve to have their allegations investigated with policies and procedures that have been long established and upheld as independent and fair,” Burgess added.

In his prepared testimony, Bright warned, “Our window of opportunity is closing. If we fail to develop a national coordinated response, based in science, I fear the pandemic will get far worse and be prolonged, causing unprecedented illness and fatalities. Without clear planning and implementation of the steps that I and other experts have outlined, 2020 will be darkest winter in modern history.”

Before the hearing on Thursday, President Donald Trump tweeted, “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!”