Senior Republican lawmakers have condemned President Donald Trump's decision to fire the head of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) after a report showed the economy added just 73,000 jobs in July, far fewer than expected. The president claimed without evidence that the figures were 'rigged' to make him look bad, asserting the economy was 'booming' on his watch.
Erika McEntarfer, who was confirmed as BLS commissioner in January 2024 under Joe Biden, said it had been 'the honor of my life to serve' and thanked civil servants for their work. Her firing has alarmed members of Trump's own party, with Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming calling it 'kind of impetuous' and warning that firing a statistician for accurate numbers is a problem.
Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina said those responsible 'ought to grow up' if the firing was simply due to disliking the numbers. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky questioned whether the move would improve statistics, noting that 'you can't really make the numbers different or better by firing the people doing the counting'. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska remarked that the jobs numbers could not be trusted, adding that firing people makes trust even lower.
William Beach, a former BLS commissioner appointed by Trump, called the dismissal 'totally groundless' and said it set a dangerous precedent. A letter from the Friends of the Bureau of Labor Statistics accused Trump of seeking to blame someone for bad news, arguing the firing 'undermines the credibility of federal economic statistics'. The letter stressed that US official statistics are 'the gold standard globally' and warned against politicising data.
Democrats also criticised the move. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont described it as 'the sign of an authoritarian type', while Paul Schroeder of the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics called the president's allegation 'very damaging'.
