A day after not commenting on President Donald Trump’s decision last week to fire the Bureau of Labor Statistics chief over a weaker-than-expected jobs report, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins gave a one-sentence statement Tuesday on the matter.
“The Bureau of Labor Statistics has a mixed record in its predictions, but should not be subject to political pressure,” Collins said.
Collins’ office had not responded to a request for comment Monday, when the three other Democratic-leaning members of Maine’s congressional delegation criticized or questioned Trump’s move to fire Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer on Friday.
That was the same day the bureau released a monthly jobs report that showed U.S. employers added 73,000 jobs in July and gave a revised picture of a combined 258,000 fewer added jobs than previously estimated for May and June.
Each of the bureau’s monthly reports, including those that Trump has previously touted to take credit for growth, include revisions for the prior two months after businesses provide more hiring data to the government. The latest report was a sign of weaker economic growth amid pressure from Trump’s tariffs.
McEntarfer’s predecessor whom Trump had nominated joined other former Bureau of Labor Statistics leaders and economists in criticizing the Republican president’s move to fire a leader over job numbers typically trusted by members of both parties.
Trump defended his firing of McEntarfer, whom former President Joe Biden nominated in 2023 before Collins and other senators voted 86-8 to confirm her, by claiming without evidence that the latest numbers were “RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.”
While a few Republican senators have raised concerns with Trump’s decision, others have echoed Trump’s claims that the government’s figures are untrustworthy or included too many revisions. Trump said Sunday he planned to announce a new Bureau of Labor Statistics leader in the coming days.
