(MENAFN) US President Donald Trump dismissed Erika McEntarfer, head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), on Friday following the release of weaker-than-expected employment numbers for July, alongside notable downward revisions to figures from May and June.

Trump accused the statistics of being politically manipulated to damage his image and that of the Republican Party, labeling the data “RIGGED” in a post on Truth Social. “I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY,” he declared, promising to appoint someone “much more competent and qualified” in her place.

The BLS confirmed that McEntarfer “was terminated,” with Deputy Commissioner William Wiatrowski stepping in as acting commissioner.

The July report showed only 73,000 new jobs created, with overall revisions cutting 258,000 jobs from May and June totals. The unemployment rate edged up slightly to 4.2%.

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer backed Trump’s move, stressing the need for the American public to “trust” BLS data. Republican Senator Roger Marshall, who had previously criticized McEntarfer’s job figures, applauded the firing, accusing her of “cooked-up numbers” that had “misled the American people for too long.”

However, economists voiced concerns that the dismissal could undermine public confidence in key government institutions. Economist Arin Dube warned on X that the action “threatens to destroy trust in core American institutions and all government statistics.”

MENAFN03082025000045017281ID1109878011