‘The neutrality of the agency has been eliminated’: Stats-based feds decry BLS chief’s firing

Some federal employees are concerned about downstream impacts after President Trump last week fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, suggesting it could lead to future meddling in their work. 

Trump’s firing of Erika McEntarfer, who until Friday served as the BLS commissioner, came after the agency released a weak jobs report and revised findings from recent months to reflect that fewer jobs than previously estimated had been created. The president and White House officials have suggested without evidence that she had “rigged” the jobs report to portray Trump negatively, though revisions to prior reports are common and have occurred under presidents in both parties. 

The dismissal of McEntarfer, who President Biden had appointed to a fixed four-year term after she spent two decades as a career civil servant at various federal statistical agencies, has left employees at BLS and elsewhere fearful of what the move could portend. 

“This is not just about one person being fired,” said Brent Barron, a claims examiner at the Labor Department and president of the American Federation of Government Employees national council that represents thousands of Labor employees. “This is about silencing the truth.” 

He added the firing amounted to “political interference” that “undermines the foundation of democratic governance.” 

In addition to compiling the monthly unemployment figure, BLS is responsible for detailing wage trends, labor force participation and other characteristics of the American workforce. Economists, policymakers and businesses lean on the data to inform their decision making. Several stakeholder groups, such as the Association of Public Data Users, denounced the firing and said BLS must adhere to scientific standards. 

A federal employee at another statistical agency said there has been no direct fallout yet—and workers there are still dedicated to accurately measuring the economy—but the firing will hang over their heads. 

“It's unfortunate that this act of intimidation is in the back of our minds as we make hundreds of small judgment calls to prepare statistics,” the employee said. “Not that we'd ever compromise the data, but that by doing our job, we might put our leadership or colleagues in jeopardy.” 

Guidance the White House put forward earlier this year aimed at protecting the integrity of federal science and data has drawn backlash from scientists and Democratic lawmakers who warned new policies would roll back efforts to insulate federal workers from undue influence.

Friends of BLS, a group co-chaired by former BLS commissioners under Biden and Trump, said Trump’s claims were “baseless” and “damaging” to the agency’s workforce. The jobs report is compiled in a decentralized manner, it noted, to avoid opportunities for interference. 

“This rationale for firing Dr. McEntarfer is without merit and undermines the credibility of federal economic statistics that are a cornerstone of intelligent economic decision-making by businesses, families, and policymakers,” the group said, adding the termination “escalates the president’s unprecedented attacks on the independence and integrity of the federal statistical system.”

Barron noted that BLS has always committed to providing objective data and the parties who rely on it will no longer have that assurance.

“Who will trust the data going forward, without concern that it is being skewed to favor an administration’s agenda or political talking points?” he said. “The neutrality of the agency has been eliminated, and public trust has been broken.”

The union, Friends of BLS and other groups called on Congress to investigate the firing. The AFGE council also asked the Labor inspector general and the Office of Special Counsel—the independent agency that investigates illegal reprisal against federal employees—to probe the matter. Federal statute dictates the BLS commissioner shall serve a four-year term “unless sooner removed,” and does not spell out any circumstances to allow or prohibit such removal. 

The top Democrats on two House committees with oversight of Labor demanded a hearing on McEntarfer’s firing. 

Barron said he and his colleagues at Labor would continue to objectively carry out their jobs regardless of the administration’s actions. 

“To fire a commissioner mid-term simply because the facts do not fit a political narrative is unprecedented and unacceptable,” Barron continued. “Our members at DOL understand the importance of integrity in public service. The American people deserve to know the truth, not a version of it rewritten by political operatives.”