White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields told Newsmax that "competency" is a requirement for the government to release an accurate analysis of employment numbers.
Fields told Newsmax's "National Report" on Monday that the firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer was based on the accuracy of her work. "Well, I would say the first thing is competence. You have to have competence in leading this bureau."
Fields said it is more than a reasonable expectation that data included in a government report should be correct. "Listen, K Street, Wall Street, and Main Street all look at these numbers as an indication of how the economy is doing. If we have questions as to how accurate these numbers are, when you have massive revisions, we have a problem. So we're looking at the competency of this individual. We don't think it's there."
President Donald Trump initiated the commissioner's firing last week after what he called a "rigged" report on employment growth. Trump posted on Truth Social that large revisions made to original reports favored "Radical Left Democrats."
Fields said the number of new hires in the workplace keeps pace with overall economic growth, and that the White House looks "at the entire economic picture."
He said there's nothing but growth happening across the country. "You have a record GDP. You have a historic 'one big beautiful bill' that just passed, which means historic tax cuts. You're seeing massive deregulation in the forms of rescissions packages and the like. Our economy is roaring in the right direction."
Fields also pointed to falling energy costs fueling a large part of the economic growth. "This president is committed to making sure that prices continue to go down. Look at energy prices. Look at gas prices. This economy is working very, very strongly."
Once someone capable of handling statistics correctly is identified, he said, the position at the Bureau of Labor Statistics will be filled. "But we need competency, and we didn't have that with the individual that was recently fired."
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer posted in support of Trump's firing of McEntarfer. "A recent string of major revisions have come to light and raised concerns about decisions being made by the Biden-appointed Labor Commissioner. I support the President's decision to replace Biden's Commissioner and ensure the American People can trust the important and influential data coming from BLS."
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Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.