In an alarming development, President Donald Trump on Friday fired Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Dr. Erika McEntarfer after accusing the economic researcher of manipulating the jobs data for political purposes.
A White House official confirmed the firing to ABC News and other outlets.
Trump provided zero evidence to support his earlier, extraordinary accusations against McEntarfer, which he shared in a social media post on Friday.
The Senate confirmed McEntarfer to the position in 2024 by a vote of 86-8.
Trump’s unhinged, on-again, off-again tariff scheme led to an unexpectedly weak jobs report, with the BLS revising May and June payrolls to show the U.S. added 258,000 fewer jobs than it originally tallied. Instead of acknowledging that his economic policies might be responsible for the economic health that results, Trump attacked the economists.
