Trump Fires the Labor Statistics Chief Hours After a Weak Jobs Report

On August 1, 2025, hours after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the economy added 73,000 jobs in July and revised May and June payrolls down by more than 200,000 jobs combined, President Trump ordered the removal of BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer. Writing on Truth Social, he called the numbers "RIGGED" and said McEntarfer had "faked the Jobs Numbers before the Election" to help Kamala Harris. He presented no evidence. McEntarfer is a career federal statistician confirmed by the Senate 86-8 in January 2024, with support that included then-Senator JD Vance.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is the government's primary producer of employment and inflation data, and its outputs feed Federal Reserve decisions, benefit indexation and private contracts. Monthly payroll revisions are a routine feature of its methodology, driven by late survey responses rather than editorial judgment. Removing the agency's head immediately after an unfavorable release ties a statistical official's tenure to whether the numbers please the White House, the condition professional statistical agencies are built to avoid.

No evidence of data manipulation was produced. On August 11 Trump nominated Heritage Foundation economist E.J. Antoni, a frequent public critic of the BLS, to run the agency; economists across the ideological spectrum questioned the pick, and the nomination was later withdrawn.