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Erika McEntarfer led the agency that produced key data on jobs and inflation. Then July’s report showed a weakening economy, and President Trump accused her of “rigging” the numbers.
Aug. 2, 2025, 5:31 p.m. ET
Nearly the entire Senate supported Erika McEntarfer in 2024 to lead the agency that produces key data on jobs and inflation. The widely respected economist was confirmed on a bipartisan 86-8 Senate vote, with support from Vice President JD Vance, who was then an Ohio senator, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, then a Florida senator.
But Dr. McEntarfer was suddenly caught in the political crossfire on Friday when President Trump lashed out over the agency’s most recent jobs report and fired her for releasing monthly jobs data showing surprisingly weak hiring. He called the data “rigged” without offering any evidence, and he accused Dr. McEntarfer of manipulating the job numbers “for political purposes.”
Dr. McEntarfer was nominated to her most recent post by President Joseph R. Biden Jr. Before that, she earned her stripes at the Census Bureau, where she worked for over two decades under both Republican and Democratic presidents.
She graduated from Bard College with a bachelor’s degree in social sciences, and she obtained a Ph.D. in economics at the Virginia Tech.
She began her career as an economist at the Census Bureau, where she worked for six years, according to her LinkedIn profile. In 2008, she joined the Treasury Department, where she analyzed the president’s budget as well as the effect of tax policy proposals on revenue.
Dr. McEntarfer returned to the Census Bureau in 2010, assuming more of a leadership role. She became the head of research for the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics program, which is responsible for developing new statistics on postsecondary employment outcomes and quarterly work force indicators.
