President Donald Trump ousted the head of the Labor Department’s statistical arm Friday after the latest monthly jobs report came in well under expectations.
“I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote in a social media post. “She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified.”
The removal of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer came after Trump reprised prior accusations that BLS surreptitiously put out overly rosy jobs numbers at the tail end of the Biden administration that were revised in an effort to influence the election. Economists have roundly dismissed those claims as a misunderstanding of the agency’s revision processes.