President Trump fired Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer following the release of July employment data showing stalled job growth. Trump asserted without supporting evidence that McEntarfer had falsified employment figures before the 2024 presidential election to benefit Kamala Harris, and characterized the recent jobs report as “rigged” against his administration and Republicans.
The National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett, a Trump appointee, defended the removal by suggesting widespread resistance to Trump throughout the federal government. However, the firing prompted strong pushback from former BLS commissioners and non-partisan economic organizations. Friends of BLS, chaired by former commissioners Erica Groshen, an Obama appointee, and William Beach, who served under Trump’s first term, released a statement characterizing the allegations against McEntarfer as without merit and warning that the firing undermines the credibility of federal economic statistics.
Multiple economic and statistical organizations joined in criticism of the action. The Association of Public Data Users stated that disliking employment data does not constitute legal grounds for removing a BLS commissioner from a four-year appointment, and argued that firing someone for publishing data collected according to scientific standards is unacceptable in a functioning democracy. The National Association for Business Economics and the American Economic Association also voiced opposition to the firing.
William Beach, McEntarfer’s predecessor as commissioner, described the firing as “totally groundless” and said it sets a dangerous precedent while undermining the BLS statistical mission. Former BLS commissioner Kathleen Utgoff, who served under the George W. Bush administration, emphasized that accurate economic data is essential for workers, businesses, politicians, and voters to make informed decisions.
Republican senators including Rand Paul, Thom Tillis, and Cynthia Lummis have also questioned the justification for McEntarfer’s dismissal. The controversy comes after the last jobs report issued before the November 2024 presidential election showed the US added only 12,000 jobs in October 2024, marking the slowest growth since 2020.
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