Trump Fires BLS Commissioner Amid Baseless ‘Rigged’ Jobs Report Accusations

President Donald Trump has fired Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Commissioner Dr. Erika McEntarfer, following the President’s unsubstantiated claims that the recently released August jobs report was ‘rigged.’ The move comes after Trump publicly decried the July jobs creation figures, released on August 1, 2025, and accused McEntarfer of manipulating data for political purposes.

Trump took to social media and addressed reporters, alleging that the BLS’s findings of only 73,000 jobs created in July, along with significant downward revisions to May and June numbers, were fabricated to undermine Republican economic success. He further claimed, without evidence, that McEntarfer, who was confirmed by a bipartisan Senate vote in 2024, had previously ‘faked’ employment numbers before the 2024 election to benefit Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.

However, a thorough fact-check reveals multiple inaccuracies in the President’s assertions. Trump’s claim that a major 2024 jobs report revision occurred *after* the election to harm Republicans is false; the significant downward revision of 818,000 jobs actually occurred on August 21, 2024, *before* the election, reflecting negatively on the then-Biden-Harris administration. Furthermore, his assertion of ‘record-setting’ revisions is also incorrect, with larger adjustments seen in 1968 and a 902,000-job benchmark revision in 2009.

The BLS is a nonpartisan agency, and revisions to jobs data are a normal and expected part of its reporting process as more comprehensive survey data becomes available. William Beach, former BLS Commissioner under President Trump, explicitly stated that it is ‘impossible’ for a commissioner to manipulate the data, as they do not see the numbers until they are finalized for distribution. Beach also confirmed that revisions are a routine and necessary aspect of the agency’s work, especially during potential economic turning points.

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