President Trump and his senior staff were previously quick to commend data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In February, Trump showcased a chart in the Oval Office highlighting an estimated gain of 10,000 manufacturing jobs in the U.S. When the bureau released its March employment report, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt enthusiastically shared the “GREAT NEWS!” on social media.
As recently as last week, Vice President JD Vance promoted bureau figures indicating job growth among U.S.-born workers.
However, following a disappointing jobs report last Friday, President Trump dismissed Erika McEntarfer, the bureau's commissioner, alleging the employment data was manipulated, basing this claim solely on his personal opinion. This move has put many of Trump’s supporters in a challenging position, forcing them to defend their decision to undermine an agency whose data they had previously championed.
Some Republicans argued that frequent revisions to employment data—common in the bureau's methodology—were excessive. Others criticized the agency for a lack of transparency, while some maintained that the president has the authority to remove officials at will. Several echoed Trump's allegations of data manipulation.
Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, who had supported McEntarfer's confirmation last year, accused her on national television of producing “fake reports.”
He added, “I’m glad she’s no longer in that role.”
Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas, another McEntarfer supporter during her confirmation, labeled her performance incompetent.
Marshall stated on social media, “The media’s explanation for the BLS chief’s dismissal is wrong. It wasn’t about ‘bad numbers,’ but incompetence. She overstated job figures by 800,000 before the election and missed estimates by 250,000 over the last two months. How can the Federal Reserve make sound decisions with flawed data? Trump made the right call.”
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who had praised the bureau's job growth figures in March, publicly supported Trump's concerns about McEntarfer through social media.
A spokesperson for Vice President Vance, who had recently cited the bureau’s data, confirmed his full support for the president’s decision to remove the BLS commissioner.
On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett declined to provide concrete evidence backing the president's claims of data manipulation.
Instead, Hassett, who had previously referred to bureau staff as “professionals,” emphasized the president's desire to appoint officials who ensure the data is “more transparent and reliable.”
Speaking on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer acknowledged the bureau's routine use of revisions but noted that some adjustments appeared unusually extreme. He added, “The president is entitled to select who serves in the executive branch.”
The White House circulated a statement accusing McEntarfer, a Biden appointee confirmed by an 86-8 Senate vote, of a “longstanding record of inaccuracies and incompetence.”
The statement also noted ongoing concerns about the reliability of the bureau's employment statistics since the onset of the Covid pandemic more than five years ago.
President Trump has a consistent pattern of accepting outcomes that favor him while dismissing unfavorable results as rigged or fraudulent.
He has challenged Emmy results, falsely claimed that former President Barack Obama lost the popular vote, and alleged that Senator Ted Cruz unfairly won the Iowa primary in 2016.
Following his 2020 election defeat, Trump propagated the falsehood that the election was stolen. Since returning to office, he has criticized sources of negative news, including judges issuing rulings against his administration.
In May, when economic indicators were mixed, Trump claimed credit for the “good parts” of the economy while blaming the “bad parts” on the previous administration.
Stephen J. Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington, noted that despite much of the bureau's economic data being positive for the Trump administration, it was insufficient.
“The dismissal sends a clear message to government officials that Trump closely monitors whether information reflects positively on him,” Farnsworth said. “More importantly, if the impartiality and accuracy of government statistics are questioned, it complicates the ability of markets and investors to make rational, informed decisions.”
The identity of Trump’s next appointee to lead the bureau remains uncertain, but the upcoming confirmation vote is expected to test Republican senators' commitment to appointing a qualified and professional candidate.
“Congress faces the critical question of whether it will insist on confirming a competent expert for this role moving forward,” Farnsworth added.
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