It only took a few hours for President Donald Trump to call for the firing of a top Bureau of Labor Statistics official after a weaker-than-expected jobs report called into question the strength of his administration’s economic policies.
Early Friday, the labor department released a report finding that the economy added 73,000 jobs last month, a number that was lower than anticipated. The unemployment rate also rose by 0.1 percentage point from the previous month, from 4.1% to 4.2%, and job gains from the last two months were revised down by a total of 258,000. While revisions to prior months’ numbers are normal, this high of a decrease came as a surprise.
Trump’s fury over the somber jobs report fell squarely on Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of BLS.
Hours after the latest stats were released, the president, in a long-winded Truth Social post filled with evidence-less claims of a coordinated conspiracy against him, called for Dr. McEntarfer’s firing. Appointed by president Joe Biden, McEntarfer was confirmed to the role by the Senate on a bipartisan basis in 2024. She handily won that vote, with 86 in favor and only eight opposed. Now-Vice President JD Vance was among the yea votes.
In the post, Trump accused McEntarfer of being incompetent and of faking the numbers for “political purposes.”
“I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY,” the president wrote on his social media platform. “She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified.” An hour later, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, the labor secretary, echoed Trump on X, saying, “I support the President’s decision.” While the department searches for a “replacement,” she wrote, Deputy Commissioner William Wiatrowski will serve as acting commissioner.
“Thanks to President Trump, our economy is BOOMING,” Secretary Chavez-DeRemer wrote, departing from the BLS report, “and with the help of fair trade deals and the One Big, Beautiful Bill, American workers will prosper!”
Later on Friday, Trump took a victory lap, telling reporters he “did the right thing.”
As The New York Times reports, “Trump and his top aides have made a habit of attacking government agencies, researchers and watchdogs when they have produced findings that the president does not like.” This recurring cycle, the Times’ Ben Casselman and Tony Romm wrote Friday, “has led to concerns that Mr. Trump could seek to interfere with the operations” of the BLS and other statistical agencies, “particularly if the economy begins to take a turn for the worse.”
