Vice President JD Vance and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer dismissed Trump’s allegation that the U.S. jobs report was rigged, just before the president announced on Truth Social that he had removed Erika McEntarfer, head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The report, released Friday, showed hiring in sharp decline, and instead of backing the claim that the data was faked, both officials focused on painting the numbers in a better light.
Vance shared a post on X, using a graphic that showed a rise in native-born workers and a fall in jobs held by foreign-born workers. He implied the change reflected Trump’s immigration policies.
Chavez-DeRemer, speaking earlier that day on Bloomberg TV, said even though the data was revised downward, “job growth is still on the right path.”
She said the administration had added “nearly half a million jobs” since Trump returned to the White House, including gains in construction and health care. Absolutely no data backs that claim, of course.
Chavez-DeRemer defended numbers before Trump fires BLS chief
The BLS report showed payrolls increased by only 73,000 in July, and previous months were revised down by nearly 260,000, bringing the three-month average to 35,000, the lowest since the pandemic era. Chavez-DeRemer said the unexpected revisions were mostly in education and seasonal work, noting, “62% of those were in education and seasonal workforce. So, we sometimes see the numbers catch up to what’s on the ground.”
She also highlighted Trump’s economic steps in early July, pointing to his passage of a tax and spending bill and his use of tariffs to negotiate new trade deals. While Chavez-DeRemer worked to steady the narrative, Trump moved in another direction. On X, the labor secretary named William Wiatrowski, the deputy, as the new acting commissioner.
“I agree wholeheartedly with POTUS that our jobs numbers must be fair, accurate, and never manipulated for political purposes,” Chavez-DeRemer posted right after Trump fired the BLS chief, repeating the repeating unproven claims.
Trump lashes out at BLS and Powell as backlash grows
The BLS, which reports to Chavez-DeRemer’s department, reportedly confirmed the firing through a statement to CNBC: “BLS can confirm Commissioner Erika McEntarfer was terminated today. Deputy Commissioner William Wiatrowski will serve as Acting Commissioner for BLS.”
Trump has long criticized the bureau’s data handling, especially around large revisions. Last year, the BLS adjusted its 12-month payroll total down by 818,000 jobs for the period ending in March 2024.
That gave the White House another reason to question the agency’s reliability. In his most recent spending proposal, Trump pushed for an 8% staff cut at the BLS, raising new concerns over its ability to handle labor, price, and economic figures without relying on estimated inputs.
Before the Friday report dropped, Trump was still celebrating the previous month’s jobs data. After the June figures were released, the White House called it a “June Boom.” But that tone changed after Friday’s numbers came in, and the markets quickly reacted. The Dow Jones fell by over 500 points, the Nasdaq dropped more than 2%, and Treasury yields took a hit.
William Beach, who led the BLS before McEntarfer and was appointed by Trump in 2017, said the move was unjustified. “The totally groundless firing of Dr. Erika McEntarfer, my successor as Commissioner of Labor Statistics at BLS, sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the Bureau,” Beach wrote on X. In a longer statement, he added, “This escalates the President’s unprecedented attacks on the independence and integrity of the federal statistical system. The President seeks to blame someone for unwelcome economic news.”
Meanwhile, for the third time in the past 24 hours, Trump also attacked Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, criticizing his refusal to lower interest rates. Powell has said the Fed won’t make a move until it sees how Trump’s tariffs affect inflation.
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