Overview

• On August 1, President Trump dismissed Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer after a jobs report showed just 73,000 new positions in July and downward revisions of 258,000 jobs for May and June.
• Trump claimed without evidence that the agency’s recent and pre-election job numbers were “rigged” to harm his political standing and benefit Democrats.
• Former BLS commissioner William Beach and the Friends of the BLS called the accusations baseless, noting that career staff independently prepare and finalize data before release.
• Bipartisan lawmakers and economists warned that politicizing an independent statistical agency could erode market confidence and complicate Federal Reserve policy decisions.
• Trump plans to nominate a successor in the coming days, but the nominee’s Senate confirmation may face skepticism amid concerns over the agency’s independence.