President Donald Trump is facing sharp criticism from within his own party after firing Erika McEntarfer, the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), following the release of lower-than-expected job numbers.
Trump announced McEntarfer’s dismissal on Friday, shortly after the BLS reported that the U.S. economy added just 73,000 jobs in July—well below the forecast of 110,000. Revised data also slashed job gains from May and June by a combined 258,000.
The decision drew rare rebukes from Republican lawmakers, with some questioning the motives behind her removal.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming told NBC News that the president’s action seemed “kind of impetuous.” She added, “If the president is firing the statistician because he doesn’t like the numbers but they are accurate, then that’s a problem. It’s not the statistician’s fault if the numbers are accurate and not what the president had hoped for.”
Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina echoed that sentiment, saying, “If she was just fired because the president or whoever decided to fire the director just did it because they didn’t like the numbers, they ought to grow up.”
Tillis has announced he will not seek re-election. President Trump has previously threatened to back primary challengers against GOP members he views as disloyal.
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky also expressed concern over what he called the “politicisation of government data.” “We have to look somewhere for objective statistics,” he said. “When the people providing the statistics are fired, it makes it much harder to make judgments… that the statistics won’t be politicised.”
Democrats also criticized the firing. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer slammed Trump’s reaction as a “shoot the messenger” approach during remarks Friday.
Trump has a long history of skepticism toward the BLS. He claimed last year that the agency manipulated job data under former President Joe Biden to benefit Democrats during the election.
Announcing the firing on social media, Trump referred to McEntarfer as a “Biden political appointee,” though she is a career civil servant confirmed by a bipartisan Senate vote in January 2024. That confirmation included support from now–Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Some Republicans defended Trump’s move. Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas, who had previously voted to confirm McEntarfer, said, “Her cooked-up numbers have misled the American people for too long.”
After the jobs report was released Friday, the markets took a hit. Trump criticized the BLS, calling the downward revision a “major mistake.” He added, “Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate—they can’t be manipulated for political purposes.”
Trump said McEntarfer would be replaced by “someone much more competent and qualified,” and maintained the economy is “BOOMING.” William Wiatrowski, BLS deputy commissioner, is now serving in an acting capacity.
In a follow-up post, Trump added, “In my opinion, today’s Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and me, look bad.”
