Statisticians railed against President Trump on Friday following his decision to fire Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) commissioner Erika McEntarfer for “inaccuracies” and “incompetence” after presenting a low job growth report for the month of July.
Former BLS chief William Beach slammed the “totally groundless” rebuke alongside the Friends of BLS, an organization that advocates on behalf of the agency which he co-chairs.
“The totally groundless firing of Dr. Erika McEntarfer, my successor as Commissioner of Labor Statistics at BLS, sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the Bureau,” Beach wrote in a Friday post on the social media platform X.
The Friday job report from the agency lowered May and June job growth numbers by the initial 258,000 positions reported.
The organization also published a strongly worded statement condemning the shift in leadership at BLS, denying Trump’s accusations that McEntarfer deliberately reported “fake” numbers to tarnish his administration’s standing.
“This baseless, damaging claim undermines the valuable work and dedication of BLS staff who produce the reports each month,” a Friday statement on the organization’s website reads.
“This escalates the President’s unprecedented attacks on the independence and integrity of the federal statistical system. The President seeks to blame someone for unwelcome economic news,” they added. “The Commissioner does not determine what the numbers are but simply reports on what the data show.”
Regardless, the president on Friday remained skeptical of the adjustments made to the two previous BLS job reports.
“No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
“She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can’t be manipulated for political purposes,” he added.
Democrats said the president fired McEntarfer with political motives to skew data while investors with a similar view weighed heavily on the market.
As of Saturday morning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 542 points, Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.3 percent and the S&P 500 decreased 1.6 percent of its value.
“Just absolutely insane, absolutely nuts. The economy is tanking and he’s terrified and he’s acting like a dictator,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) said in reference to Trump’s dismissal.
A chorus of Democrats in the upper chamber chimed in.
“That’s some weird Soviet s‑‑‑,” Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) said. “Blaming the messenger? Nothing’s ever his fault.”
“Speaks for itself,” he said.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) shared similar thoughts telling people “it sounds very Soviet, very authoritarian, very 1984.”
Source: The Hill - News
