To The Reader’s Forum:

Mr. Trump’s firing of Commissioner of Labor Statistics Erika McEntarfer was a dangerous overreach that damaged the credibility of federal statistical data relied on by American businesses, Wall Street, and even other countries.

Trump’s impulsive move was clearly retribution for McEntarfer simply reporting the jobs data. Yes, there was an adjustment to the jobs numbers. There often is. The particularly large adjustment was not unexpected as many businesses are delaying hiring because of uncertainty caused by Trump tariffs/trade war, the biggest trade war since the Hoover administration and the Smoot-Hawley Act.

Mr. Trump was unable to justify his action with evidence so immediately pivoted to making it about politics, with his statement; “I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY”.

Biden political appointee? It’s worth noting that McEntarfer was confirmed as BLS commissioner in January 2024 on a bipartisan 86-8 Senate vote. It is also worth noting that in the Trump administration you can get fired for adjusting jobs reports to more accurately reflect current data, but you can keep your job if you are wrong about how close Iran is to producing a nuclear weapon.

William Beach, who was appointed BLS commissioner by Trump in 2019 and served until 2023, called McEntarfer’s firing “groundless” and said it “sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the Bureau.”

Trump’s action is similar to an arsonist disabling a fire alarm to keep from getting caught in the act. What makes it particularly dangerous is that Senate and House Republicans, including Congressman Langworthy, act as accomplices by telling us to ignore the alarms that still work. They dismiss numbers they don’t like and legitimate concerns about the constitutionality of Trump administration actions as “Democratic propaganda”.

House and Senate Republicans have handed over their power and abdicated their duty to act as a check on presidential overreach. This is bad for the Republican party, bad for the country, and a threat to democracy.

Andrea Hatfield

Jamestown