Erika McEntarfer, the BLS head fired by Trump, got bipartisan support in her 2024 confirmation with votes from JD Vance and Marco Rubio
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Erika McEntarfer, the BLS head fired by Trump, got bipartisan support in her 2024 confirmation with votes from JD Vance and Marco Rubio

August 3, 2025
02:28 PM
4 min read
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“She had a sterling reputation as someone who is concerned about the accuracy of the data and not someone who puts a political spin on her work.”

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August 3, 2025

02:28 PM

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·U.S. jobs reportErika McEntarfer, the BLS head fired by Trump, got bipartisan support in her 2024 confirmation with votes from JD Vance and Marco RubioBy Fatima HusseinBy Alexandra OlsonBy The Associated PressBy Fatima HusseinBy Alexandra OlsonBy The Associated Press McEntarfer had served as BLS head for a year and a half.J

Scott Applewhite—AP PhotoThe head of the agency that compiles the closely watched monthly jobs report usually toils in obscurity, but on Friday, the current holder of that job was loudly fired by the president of the United States

Erika McEntarfer, a longtime government employee, bore the brunt of President Donald Trump’s unhappiness with Friday’s jobs report, which showed that hiring had slowed in July and was much less in May and June that previously estimated

He accused her without evidence of manipulating the job numbers and noted she was an appointee of President Joe Biden

McEntarfer, a longtime government worker who had served as BLS head for a year and a half, did not immediately respond to a request for by The Associated Press

But her predecessor overseeing the jobs agency, former co-workers and associates have denounced the firing, warning its repercussions and saying McEntarfer was nonpolitical in her role

Here’s what to know Erika McEntarfer: McEntarfer has a strong background on economics McEntarfer, whose re focuses on job loss, retirement, worker mobility, and wage rigidity, had previously worked at the Census Bureau’s Center for Economic Studies, the Treasury Department’s Office of Tax Policy and the White House Council of Economic Advisers in a nonpolitical role

She has a bachelor’s degree in Social Science from Bard College and a doctoral degree in economics from Virginia Polynic Institute and State University

She was confirmed as BLS head on a bipartisan vote McEntarfer was nominated in 2023 to serve as BLS head, and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions that her nomination go to the full Senate for a vote

She was confirmed as BLS commissioner in January 2024 on a bipartisan 86-8 Senate vote

Among the Republican senators who voted to confirm her included then-Sen

JD Vance of Ohio, who is now Trump’s vice president, and then-Sen

Marco Rubio of Florida, who is now Trump’s secretary of state

Before her confirmation hearing, a group called the Friends of the BLS, made up of former commissioners who served in both Democratic and Republican administrations, members of statistical associations and credentialed economists, said McEntarfer’s background made her a great choice for the job. “The many reasons to quickly confirm Dr

McEntarfer as the new BLS Commissioner all boil down to this: the agency, the entire statistical system, is undergoing an intense, significant period of change and Dr

McEntarfer’s wealth of re and statistical experience have equipped her to be the strong leader that BLS needs to meet these challenges,” Friends of the BLS wrote

Her former associates and co-workers decry her firing William Beach, who was appointed BLS commissioner in 2019 by Trump and served until 2023 during President Joe Biden’s administration, called McEntarfer’s firing “groundless” and said in an X post that it “sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the Bureau.” Former Labor Department chief economist Sarah J

Glynn, who received regular briefings from McEntarfer BLS findings, said McEntarfer was generous with her time explaining what conclusions could or couldn’t be reached from the data

If the data didn’t support something an administration official was saying, McEntarfer would say so, Glynn said

She also never weighed in on how the administration should present or interpret the data, Glynn said — she would simply answer questions the data. “She had a sterling reputation as someone who is concerned the accuracy of the data and not someone who puts a political spin on her work,” Glynn said

Heather Boushey, a senior re fellow at Harvard University, served with McEntarfer on the White House Council of Economic Advisers and said McEntarfer never talked at work. “She showed up every day to focus on the best analysis and the best apach to her field and not get political

That is what I saw from her time and again

She is brilliant and well-respected among labor economists generally,” Boushey said. “She wasn’t coming into my office to talk or the political implications of something

She definitely wasn’t engaging on that side of things.” Introducing the 2025 Fortune 500, the definitive ranking of the biggest companies in America

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