Trump photo by Reuters.
The head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics was fired by President Donald Trump on Friday, just hours after a startling government report revealed that hiring had drastically decreased over the previous three months. Trump assaulted Erika McEntarfer, the BLS commissioner, on Truth Social. He ordered his administration to fire her, saying that a Biden appointment was “producing the nation’s jobs reports.”
Trump wrote, “We need accurate jobs numbers.” “Someone far more capable and qualified will take her place. Such significant figures must be impartial and true; they cannot be swayed for political ends. Shortly after the post, NBC News received confirmation from a Trump administration official that McEntarfer had been fired.
In July, the US economy added only 73,000 jobs, far fewer than expected, according to the BLS’s data released Friday morning. Additionally, it stated that it had reduced the May and June figures by a total of over 200,000 jobs. In July 2023, McEntarfer was nominated by President Joe Biden, and in January 2024, she received resounding bipartisan support when she was confirmed by the Senate by an 86-to-8 majority (six members abstained). Over the past two decades, McEntarfer has held positions at the Treasury Department, the Census Bureau, and the White House Council of Economic Advisers.