No Trump Nominee Should Lead The Bureau of Labor Statistics

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is one of those crucial but often ignored pieces of infrastructure that keep our economy running. The public and private sector depend on it for decision-making about investments, interest rates, pay, and hiring decisions. Meddling with it so the product is no longer independent and reliable could mean we get more of those decisions wrong, with serious real-world harm to our pocketbooks. As former BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer has said, “messing with economic data is like messing with the traffic lights and turning the sensors off.” We cannot trust anyone Donald Trump nominates to lead this bureau to prioritize accuracy over serving their political patron. Please oppose his selection, Brett Matsumoto, and do everything in your power as a senator to stall the confirmation process. The President has made it obvious that what matters to him is BLS information conforming to his narrative, rather than reality. He fired and publicly smeared McEntarfer because the bureau’s reports correctly showed the economy struggling under his administration. He then attempted to replace her with someone even his ideological allies dismissed as an unqualified, partisan hack. It would be foolish after these banana republic tactics to believe he has somehow accepted the importance of an apolitical agency. Even if Matsumoto intends to serve the public honestly, how can he do so with this sword hanging over his head? The precedent is there for him to be targeted and terminated for doing his job well. The White House does not lead to lift another finger to interfere with BLS’ work. The chilling effect will touch whoever fills this position. The United States Senate must insist on the reinstatement of McEntarfer, and barring that must treat Trump’s selections as effectively compromised. Please put the economic well-being of regular Americans first and stop them from moving forward.