Former Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioners and multiple non-partisan economic organizations have denounced President Donald Trump’s removal of BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, which followed the release of employment data showing slowed job growth. Trump alleged without evidence that McEntarfer had manipulated employment figures and characterized recent data as rigged to damage his and the Republican Party’s standing.
Friends of BLS, a group headed by former commissioners Erica Groshen and William Beach, released a statement urging Congress to investigate the circumstances of McEntarfer’s dismissal and advocating for her reinstatement. The organization emphasized that disliking statistical outcomes does not constitute valid grounds for removing the commissioner from her four-year appointment. Multiple other economic associations, including the Association of Public Data Users, the National Association for Business Economics, and the American Economic Association, echoed concerns about the firing’s implications for federal statistical integrity.
Beach, a Trump appointee who previously served as BLS commissioner until 2023, characterized the dismissal as groundless and warned it sets a troubling precedent for the agency’s statistical mission. The Trump administration’s National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett has defended the action by claiming widespread resistance to the administration across government agencies. Meanwhile, some Republican senators, including Rand Paul, Thom Tillis, and Cynthia Lummis, have questioned the rationale behind the firing.
Former Commissioner Kathleen Utgoff, who served during the George W. Bush administration, emphasized in comments to the Guardian that accurate economic data remains essential for workers, businesses, and policymakers to make informed decisions. The removal of McEntarfer represents an unusual challenge to the long-standing non-partisan structure of the BLS, an agency designed to maintain independence from political influence.
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