The top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee called President Donald Trump’s firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer on Friday “the act of somebody who is soft, weak and afraid to own up to the reality of the damage his chaos is inflicting on our economy.”
“Bottom line, Trump wants to cook the books,” said Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon in a statement shortly after Trump fired McEntarfer on the heels of a weaker-than-expected jobs report by the BLS.
“Trump can’t get through a single day without making some catastrophic decision that undermines confidence in the U.S. economy, and although the Bureau of Labor Statistics might sound obscure to people outside Washington, Trump’s interference with jobs data is a nightmare scenario that will do long-lasting harm,” Wyden said.
“It’s long past time for Senate Republicans to find the courage to stand up to this dictatorial behavior, and there is no way the Senate can accept some Trump lackey as the head of BLS,” the senator said.
Wyden’s criticism was echoed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who said Trump was acting like a dictator and a “bad leader” who “shoots the messenger” after hearing bad news about the economy.
