On Friday, President Donald Trump fired Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), only hours after the release of new monthly jobs data that showed a continued weakening of the US labor market.

The unprecedented interference into what has long been considered an independent, data-driven institution central to public trust and economic stability represents another significant step by Trump toward the establishment of a presidential dictatorship.

Trump announced McEntarfer’s dismissal in a series of posts on his Truth Social account beginning Friday afternoon, writing:

I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY. She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified.

In a subsequent post, he claimed, “In my opinion, today’s Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.” Later, when speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump remarked,

I had issues with the numbers for a long time. But today, we’re doing so well. I believe the numbers were phony … you know what I did? I fired her. And you know, what? I did the right thing.

The removal of McEntarfer took place after the BLS released the monthly employment report for July 2025. The report said the US economy added just 73,000 jobs during the month, falling well below the consensus forecast of 100,000. Even more significant to analysts were downward revisions to May and June’s figures, reducing combined job gains by over 200,000.

The unemployment rate remained at 4.2 percent, but labor force participation also slipped slightly, suggesting some workers were giving up the job search altogether. Analysts interpreted the numbers as the weakest three-month average for what economists call the “post-pandemic recovery.”

Neither Trump nor anyone else from the White House has provided evidence or documentation backing up the claim that the BLS jobs data were rigged. Exposing the blatantly political motivation behind McEntarfer’s firing, Trump’s advisers have pointed to the scale of the data revisions as supposed proof that something was amiss with the data.

However, economic observers pointed to a series of factors contributing to the labor market slowdown. Chief among these were the very policies enacted by the Trump administration, including the tariffs on goods from China, the European Union, Mexico, and other trade partners.

As predicted widely prior to the implementation of the tariffs, Trump’s aggressive America-first trade policies have led to higher input costs for domestic manufacturers, reduced global competitiveness for American exports, and increased uncertainty that depresses business investment.

As Seema Shah, chief strategist at Principal Asset Management, told NBC News on Friday:

This not only represents a payroll number much weaker than anticipated, but the substantial downward revisions from the previous two months deliver a significant setback to perceptions of labor market strength. Additionally, the adverse effects of tariffs are only beginning to manifest, suggesting that the next few months will likely reveal even more pronounced signs of a slowdown in the labor market.

Shortly after Trump’s announcement, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer supported the move and backed up the claims of manipulation, posting on X: “Dr. McEntarfer is no longer leading the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The American people deserve jobs data that isn’t manipulated for political gain. President Trump is restoring honesty in our economic reporting.” DeRemer’s appointment was supported by numerous trade unions because she supported the PRO Act, which buttresses the dues income of the labor bureaucracy.

Erika McEntarfer is a labor economist with over 20 years at key statistical institutions, including the US Census Bureau. She was nominated to the BLS post in 2023 by President Biden and confirmed in early 2024 by a bipartisan vote in the Senate of 86–8. Her academic publications and advisory roles in the federal government consolidated her reputation as an apolitical statistician focused on methodological rigor and transparency.

The BLS itself is one of the oldest federal agencies. It was established in 1884 to gather and publish labor statistics independent of political influence. While it resides within the US Department of Labor, its commissioners serve staggered four-year terms specifically designed to insulate the agency from presidential cycles, a feature meant to preserve confidence in the integrity of its data.

Monthly job reports, inflation figures and wage data produced by the BLS underpin decisions made by the Federal Reserve, Congress, investors, workers and employers. Its published release calendar is set a year in advance—a measure to show that these reports cannot be adjusted or rescheduled at the whim of the administration.

Trump’s action drew condemnation from former BLS leaders, statisticians, economists and political scientists. Several former commissioners and officials with the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics issued a joint statement that said:

This rationale for firing Dr. McEntarfer is without merit and undermines the credibility of federal economic statistics that are a cornerstone of intelligent economic decision-making by businesses, families, and policymakers.

Scholars and market analysts warned that if the perceived neutrality of US statistics is undermined, economic actors both at home and abroad will begin to price in increased risk when engaging with the US economy.

The consequences of the firing go far beyond one labor report. US government economic data is the most influential in the world and forms the informational infrastructure for investing, policy-making and trade.

If the US data appears skewed or politically manipulated, credibility and confidence in the American economic system itself will be significantly undermined. The knock-on effects could include increased costs to borrow money, growing skepticism about Federal Reserve moves and declining demand for US Treasury bonds.

In a worst-case scenario, doubts about the reliability of core economic metrics could threaten the US dollar’s privileged role as the world reserve currency—one of the bedrocks of American financial hegemony.

Trump’s latest dictatorial move is the clearest attempt yet to politicize what has historically been off limits for presidents and considered neutral territory. The action is in line with other instances where officials have been fired during the second Trump administration for refusing to abandon the truth.

A senior US immigration attorney, Erez Reuveni, was fired by the Justice Department after he reported that Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia had been deported to El Salvador in error, despite a judicial order prohibiting his removal.

Reuveni represented the government in the case and admitted in court that Abrego Garcia “should not have been removed,” conceding that the deportation was a mistake and publicly expressing frustration with the government’s lack of communication about rectifying the error.

Shortly after making these acknowledgments, Reuveni was placed on administrative leave and then dismissed, an action first reported by the Wall Street Journal and widely attributed to political pressure within the Trump administration, which claimed the lawyer had undermined its legal strategy.