Continued Fallout from Trump's Dismissal of Top Labor Official and Data Integrity Concerns

The fallout from President Donald Trump's decision to dismiss a senior labor official continues to unfold. On Sunday, Trump's long-time economic adviser defended the move, asserting that the recent employment data revisions serve as concrete evidence of discrepancies. Trump dismissed Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Commissioner Erika McEntarfer on Friday, accusing her of manipulating employment figures for political gain. The latest report indicated lower hiring numbers for May and June. When questioned on NBC's "Meet the Press" about supporting evidence, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett stated, "The revisions are the hard evidence." He noted the absence of detailed explanations accompanying the significant data adjustments, which he claimed were unprecedented. Contrasting this view, William Beach, a former BLS commissioner, argued that the data revisions resulted from McEntarfer's efforts to incorporate additional information, not manipulation. On CNN's "State of the Union," Beach emphasized that the numbers are finalized and stored in the system, dismissing allegations of data tampering. McEntarfer has not publicly responded to her firing. Experts point out th...