Economists and former government officials are raising alarms about the integrity of federal economic data after President Donald Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday, calling it an unprecedented attack on the independence of government statistical agencies.
Trump fired Commissioner Erika McEntarfer hours after the BLS reported that the US added just 73,000 jobs in July and sharply revised down May and June job growth by a combined 258,000 positions. He accused her without evidence of manipulating data for political purposes.
The move has drawn fierce criticism from across the economic establishment. William Beach, who served as BLS commissioner during Trump’s first term, said it “sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the Bureau.”
“This escalates the President’s unprecedented attacks on the independence and integrity of the federal statistical system,” Beach said in a statement.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, said he had never seen anything even close to this action and warned that “anything that undermines that or even the perception of that high standard is deeply worrisome.”
Jason Furman, former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Obama, warned of broader economic consequences. “Countries that have tried to fake those statistics have often ended up with economic crises as a result,” he said.
The BLS is already facing staff cuts as part of broader Trump administration cost-cutting measures, with the agency recently stopping data collection in three cities for its Consumer Price Index.
Read: US Government Cuts Force A Third of CPI Data to Be Based on Estimates
White House National Economic Adviser Kevin Hassett defended the decision Sunday, telling NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Trump “wants his own people there.” But Stephen Miran, a top White House economist, stopped short of repeating Trump’s claims that numbers were rigged when pressed by reporters.
Deputy Commissioner William Wiatrowski, an Obama-era appointee, is now serving as acting head while the administration searches for a replacement.
Democratic Senator Mark Warner accused Trump of “working the referees,” saying “firing the ump doesn’t change the score.”
Government statistical agencies have historically operated with independence from political interference to maintain credibility in their data collection. The BLS methodology is considered the gold standard internationally, with routine revisions viewed as essential for data accuracy.
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