President Donald Trump fired Erika McEntarfer, the director of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), following the release of a jobs report showing a sharp slowdown in U.S. hiring during the summer of 2025. Trump accused McEntarfer, a Biden appointee, of manipulating employment data to make him look bad, calling the latest jobs figures "rigged" and "ridiculous." The White House defended the dismissal, citing concerns over data revisions and the need for agency reform. However, the firing has sparked widespread criticism from economists, former officials, and investors who warn it undermines confidence in the integrity of U.S. economic data. Experts note that the BLS has faced longstanding challenges predating McEntarfer's tenure, but Trump's action breaks a tradition of non-interference with the agency that has existed since the 1970s. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent supported the move, describing the agency's data errors as "lazy work" and calling for a revamp. Meanwhile, former BLS officials and economists caution that the firing risks eroding trust in government statistics, which are crucial for policymaking, market stability, and economic decision-making. Trump subsequently presented alternative economic statistics alleging bias in official data favoring his predecessor, Joe Biden. The controversy has raised concerns about the reliability of U.S. economic data at a time when accurate assessments of the world's largest economy are in high demand.