Fact Check: Trump fired the head of the jobs report agency due to unfavorable numbers and installed a successor expected to produce favorable data.

Fact-Check: "Trump fired the head of the jobs report agency due to unfavorable numbers and installed a successor expected to produce favorable data."

What We Know

On August 1, 2025, President Donald Trump removed Erika McEntarfer from her position as the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) following the release of a disappointing jobs report. The report indicated that only 73,000 jobs were added in July, significantly lower than the expected 109,000, and included substantial downward revisions to previous months' job figures, totaling a loss of 258,000 jobs for May and June combined (AP News, BBC). Trump publicly accused McEntarfer of manipulating the jobs data for political reasons, stating, "In my opinion, today’s Jobs Numbers were RIGGED" (AP News, CNN).

Following her dismissal, Deputy Commissioner William Wiatrowski was appointed as the acting director of the BLS (AP News, NBC News). Trump's comments suggested that he intended to replace McEntarfer with someone who would produce more favorable data, as he claimed, "She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified" (AP News).

Analysis

The evidence surrounding Trump's dismissal of McEntarfer is well-documented and comes from multiple reputable sources. The Associated Press and BBC reported on the circumstances leading to her firing, highlighting Trump's dissatisfaction with the jobs report and his claims of data manipulation (AP News, BBC). Critics, including former BLS commissioners and economists, condemned the decision, arguing that it undermined the credibility of federal economic statistics (AP News, NY Times).

The claim that Trump intended to install a successor who would produce favorable data is supported by his own statements. He explicitly stated that he would replace McEntarfer with someone "more competent," implying a desire for a change in the agency's output (AP News). However, it is important to note that the BLS operates with a significant degree of independence, and while the commissioner is a political appointee, the agency's data collection methods are designed to be nonpartisan and objective (NY Times, USA Today).

Critics of Trump's action, including economists and former officials, have pointed out that firing the head of a key economic agency due to unfavorable data is reminiscent of practices in authoritarian regimes, which raises concerns about the integrity of economic reporting in the U.S. (BBC, NY Times).

While Trump's claim of "rigged" data lacks evidence and has been widely disputed, the context of his firing of McEntarfer aligns with a pattern of behavior where he has previously attacked economic data that did not favor his administration (CNN, PolitiFact).

Conclusion

The claim that Trump fired the head of the jobs report agency due to unfavorable numbers and intended to replace her with someone expected to produce favorable data is True. The evidence clearly indicates that Trump's decision was directly linked to the release of disappointing job statistics, and his statements suggest an intention to influence the agency's output moving forward.