Trump Defends Firing of Labor Commissioner Over Job Report

On Monday, President Donald Trump defended his decision to fire former Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, citing her recent jobs report findings as “a scam” and one of “the biggest miscalculations in over 50 years.”

Trump initiated McEntarfer’s dismissal, who had been appointed by former President Joe Biden, following her release of a report indicating that employment growth was below expectations.

In a Truth Social post, Trump stated, “I was just informed that our Country’s ‘Job Numbers’ are being produced by a Biden appointee, Dr. Erika McEntarfer, who faked the Jobs Numbers before the Election to try and boost Kamala’s chances of Victory.”

He added, “This is the same Bureau of Labor Statistics that overstated Job Growth in March 2024 by about 818,000 and, then again, right before the 2024 Presidential Election, in August and September, by 112,000.”

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett backed Trump’s decision during a segment on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” saying: “If I was running the BLS, and I had a number that was a huge, politically important revision … then I would have a really long report explaining what happened, and we didn’t get that.”

Hassett noted he has “never seen revisions like that.”

Contrasting Trump’s view, William Beach, a former BLS commissioner, argued that McEntarfer’s revisions showed her intention to improve data accuracy. He stated that she couldn’t have manipulated the job numbers, emphasizing that by the time the commissioner receives them, they’re already set in the system.

Despite this, Trump reiterated in a Monday Truth Social post that the job figures were “RIGGED.” He asserted, “Last week’s Job’s Report was RIGGED, just like the numbers prior to the Presidential Election were Rigged.” He claimed these significant adjustments were made to disguise fabricated numbers that downplayed Republican success.

According to Hassett, the revisions from McEntarfer in May and June indicated 258,000 fewer jobs than previously reported.

The BLS has not offered detailed explanations for these revisions, only stating that “monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors.”