After firing of BLS chief, Lutnick tells federal statisticians that independence is ‘nonsense’

The independence of federal statistical agencies is “nonsense,” the head of the Commerce Department and one of President Trump’s chief economic emissaries told employees on Tuesday, who said they need to focus only on obtaining “the right answer.” 

The comments, coming on the heels of President Trump firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after her agency released a weak jobs report, sparked concern among the staff present for the remarks. Commerce Department Secretary Howard Lutnick immediately followed up his comment by noting accuracy was the only important concept for federal statisticians and stressed they “can’t be twisted by anyone,” according to a recording obtained by Government Executive. 

Still, Lutnick seeming to label statistical independence as an irrelevant consideration caught employees off guard and renewed questions of potential political interference in federal statistical work. Trump’s firing of Erika McEntarfer, who had served as BLS commissioner, caused watchdog groups, former agency leaders and current employees to sound the alarm on what the decision could mean for future political interference with their work.  

“What is the answer to the question?” Lutnick asked at a town hall for Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis employees when asked about the importance of statistical independence at federal agencies. “As best as humanly possible with as many tools as possible, get the right answer. So independence is a nonsense. Okay, accuracy is the only word that matters.” 

Lutnick did make clear he sought only truthful data and would not accept any improper biases. He said that being “honestly accurate” is the driving force of the statistical agencies and anyone who has an opinion on an outcome they prefer is working for the wrong bureau. 

“If someone's opinion is driving them, then they're tilting the foundation, and they're going to mess with America,” Lutnick said. “Let's get the answer right. God knows, let's get the answer right. And, therefore, that's all I care about.” 

The secretary went on to call for the right answer several more times. 

“Get the answer right, and let's try to get America on the right track to take care of all Americans. You are the driver of those statistics that we rely upon. They can't be twisted. They can't be twisted by anyone.”

Robert Santos, who led Census from 2022 until shortly after Trump took office, noted the 2018 Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act codified the independent nature of statistics-related work at federal agencies. 

“The core values of the Census Bureau are scientific integrity, objectivity, transparency and independence,” Santos said. “Independence of federal agencies to gather and process data, then publish federal statistics is what the public needs and deserves.” 

Lutnick spent much of his address talking up the benefits of AI, calling for federal statisticians to integrate it more into their work, according to one attendee. They should produce more and better data that is delivered on a timelier basis, he said, repeating three times “more, better.” He cited revisions made to BLS jobs data in suggesting that delays in accurate data can lead to bad decisions by policymakers. Trump and other administration officials have taken that line of thinking further, suggesting without any evidence that BLS purposely misrepresented the data to reflect negatively on the president. 

Paul Schroeder, executive director of the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics, said Lutnick’s goal of accuracy could become not credible if he does not ensure independence of the agencies he oversees. 

“I certainly disagree that independence is nonsense,” Schroeder said, adding that independence in the context of statistical agencies refers to independence from political bias or favor. A failure to ensure its work is free from such bias, he said, would “harm the accuracy” of the data. 

The Trump administration has taken an adversarial approach to the independence that some agencies maintain. Trump signed an executive order this year curtailing the autonomy that many independent regulatory agencies have historically enjoyed, requiring the White House to have more oversight of their actions. Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought prior to taking office told Tucker Carlson that he was focused on “destroying independence at every agency.” In his first time leading OMB during Trump’s first term, he said, he was frustrated by who got to “make the decisions on statistics” and vowed to remove related independence that enabled that mindset.