White House advisers defend Trump’s firing of official behind jobs data

The White House has defended U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to remove Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), following her dismissal, which has raised concerns about the credibility of key economic data.

Trump fired McEntarfer on Friday, alleging without evidence that the latest jobs report had been manipulated to portray him in a negative light. The move came after the release of revised employment figures showing significantly lower job growth than previously reported.

Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, addressed these concerns on Sunday, denying that Trump was “shooting the messenger.” He questioned the accuracy of the revised data, calling the downward revision of May and June job growth “unprecedented” and a “historically important outlier.”

Hassett emphasized the need for transparency and reliability in the data, stating that if significant revisions occur—such as those expected in September—he wants explanations for the changes. “We want people to explain it to us,” he said during an appearance on NBC News’ Meet the Press.

Later that day, Hassett expressed further skepticism about the official numbers on Fox News, suggesting without evidence that employment statistics might reflect “partisan patterns.” He called for a “fresh set of eyes” at the BLS, implying that the agency needed reform.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also supported Trump’s decision, stating that the president had “real concerns” about the reliability of the jobs data. “You want to be able to have somewhat reliable numbers,” she told CBS News’ Face the Nation. She added that while revisions are common, some changes can be extreme, and as president, Trump has the authority to appoint officials in the executive branch.

The most recent employment data, released on Friday, revealed that 258,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than initially estimated, with only 73,000 jobs added in July. These figures contradicted Trump’s claims that the economy had not suffered from his trade policies, including tariffs.

On Sunday, Trump announced that he would soon name a new BLS director and a candidate to replace Adriana Kugler, who recently resigned from the Federal Reserve.

McEntarfer, a career bureaucrat appointed with bipartisan support in 2024, has faced criticism from economists and lawmakers across party lines for her dismissal. The Friends of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a group co-led by former BLS directors William Beach and Erica L. Groshen, condemned the move as an attempt to politicize the agency.

In a statement, the group warned that when leaders manipulate economic data, it erodes public trust in government statistics. “US official statistics are the gold standard globally,” they wrote. “When leaders of other nations have politicized economic data, it has destroyed public trust in all official statistics and in government science.”