A federal scientist who says he was ousted from his job amid a dispute over an unproven coronavirus treatment pushed by President Trump said on Tuesday that top administration officials repeatedly pressured him to steer millions of dollars in contracts to the clients of a well-connected consultant.

Rick Bright, who was director of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority until his removal in April, said in a formal whistle-blower complaint that he had been protesting “cronyism” and contract abuse since 2017.

Questionable contracts have gone to “companies with political connections to the administration,” the complaint said, including a drug company tied to a friend of Jared Kushner’s, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser.

It said Dr Bright was retaliated against by his superiors, who pushed him out because of “his efforts to prioritise science and safety over political expediency”.

The 89-page complaint, filed with the Office of Special Counsel, which protects federal whistle-blowers, also said Dr Bright “encountered opposition” from department superiors — including Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II — when he pushed as early as January for the necessary resources to develop drugs and vaccines to counter the emerging coronavirus pandemic.

The report provides a window into the inner workings of BARDA, a tiny agency created in 2006 as a response to the September 11, 2001, attacks. It partners with industry in developing “medical countermeasures” that can be stockpiled by the federal government to combat biological or chemical attacks and pandemic threats.

BARDA has spent billions of dollars on contracts with dozens of different suppliers, including major pharmaceutical companies and smaller biotechnology firms.

Both allies and Dr Bright say his nearly four-year tenure as the head of BARDA was marked by clashes with his superiors — especially Dr Robert Kadlec, the assistant secretary of health for preparedness and response — and tension with some industry executives.

Dr Bright conceded in the complaint that those clashes came to a head after he leaked information on the dispute over the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to a reporter from Reuters.

A lawyer for Dr Bright, Debra Katz, said he felt a “moral obligation” to get the word out that the administration was pressing to stockpile an unproven and potentially dangerous coronavirus treatment.