President Donald Trump directed officials to dismiss Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer on Friday, hours after the agency reported the U.S. economy added just 73,000 jobs in July and revised May and June payroll gains down by a combined 258,000. Trump, without providing evidence, alleged the Biden-appointed commissioner had “faked” employment figures to hurt his administration and said the numbers were rigged against Republicans. McEntarfer, confirmed by the Senate on an 86-8 vote last year to a four-year term, is the first BLS chief to be removed over a dispute about published data. Deputy Commissioner William Wiatrowski was named acting head while Trump said he would nominate a permanent replacement within days. The president also renewed criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, saying the central bank had been slow to cut rates. White House economic advisers, including National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, defended the firing, pointing to what they called unusually large revisions in recent employment reports. They said new leadership was needed to restore confidence in the statistics. Economists and former officials countered that revisions are routine as late employer filings are incorporated. Former BLS commissioner William Beach and ex-Treasury Secretary Larry Summers called the dismissal groundless and warned it could erode trust in government data that underpin financial markets. The BLS, which surveys about 121,000 employers each month, has seen its response rate slip to roughly 67% since the pandemic. The move rattled investors already digesting the weaker labor figures; major U.S. equity indices fell about 1.5% on Aug. 1. Analysts said the episode raises the risk of political interference in one of the world’s most respected statistical agencies at a time when markets and policymakers rely heavily on timely, accurate data.