Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler said she will step down on 8 Aug., creating a second vacancy on the seven-member Board just days after policymakers cut interest rates. Separately, President Donald Trump dismissed Erika L. McEntarfer, the commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, hours after the July employment report revealed a sharp deceleration in job gains and sizeable downward revisions to prior months. The twin departures intensified investor concern that economic data and monetary policy could become more vulnerable to political influence. Analysts from CFRA, Andersen Capital Management and other firms warned that replacing senior officials with more dovish appointees could erode confidence in the objectivity of both the Fed and the nation’s labor statistics, pressuring the dollar and complicating market forecasts. While Kugler cited personal reasons for leaving before her term ends in January, market strategists noted that her absence from this week’s Federal Open Market Committee vote preceded the resignation announcement. The White House can now nominate two governors and a new BLS chief, potentially reshaping the policy outlook ahead of the November election.