President Donald Trump on Friday afternoon called for the ouster of the head of the Labor Department’s statistical arm after the latest monthly jobs report came in well under expectations.
“I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote in a social media post. “She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified.”
Trump reprised prior accusations that the Bureau of Labor Statistics under Commissioner Erika McEntarfer surreptitiously put out overly rosy jobs numbers at the tail end of the Biden administration that were subsequently revised in order to influence the election. Economists have roundly dismissed these claims as a misunderstanding of the agency’s revision processes.
The BLS produces some of the country’s most closely watched economic statistics, such as the monthly jobs and inflation reports. Those reports feature prominently in the Federal Reserve’s assessment of the economy.
“Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can’t be manipulated for political purposes,” Trump wrote. “McEntarfer said there were only 73,000 Jobs added (a shock!) but, more importantly, that a major mistake was made by them, 258,000 Jobs downward, in the prior two months.”
Though a part of the Labor Department, BLS has traditionally operated with considerable autonomy from the rest of the agency in order to insulate it from political interference and provide security to financial markets that its data is trustworthy. Trump’s fury comes as he has also lashed out against the Federal Reserve for not cutting interest rates to his liking, a monthslong saga that continues to play out in public.
A DOL spokesperson did not immediately return requests for comment on whether McEntarfer has been removed.
The agency has scaled back its data-collection efforts for its benchmark inflation report amid staffing shortages and proposed budget cuts. Earlier this week, BLS said those reductions, which result in a greater reliance on mathematical assumptions to bridge data gaps, were more extensive than previously indicated.
Victoria Guida contributed reporting.
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