As Chair of the New York State Assembly Labor Committee, and on behalf of the Greater Rochester Majority State Delegation and the President of the Rochester Labor Council and Rochester & Genesee Valley Area Labor Federation, we are deeply troubled by President Trump's firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer.

This unprecedented move represents a dangerous attack on the independence and credibility of our nation’s labor data systems – tools that millions of workers, businesses, and policymakers rely on to make informed decisions. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has long reported data in a strictly nonpartisan manner under previous administrations.

President Trump’s baseless claim on social media that the July jobs report was "rigged" to make him look bad not only lacks evidence – it shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how economic statistics are collected and reported. The BLS does not manipulate facts to fit political narratives; it reports what the data shows. And the fact is, job growth has slowed under Trump. The BLS revised May and June payroll numbers down by a combined 258,000 jobs.

Even Trump’s former BLS Commissioner, Bill Beach, defended McEntarfer, noting that commissioners do not collect or edit data and only see finalized figures after they are prepared. Two of Trump’s own cabinet members – Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, voted to confirm McEntarfer just last year.

Firing a commissioner for doing their job is not leadership – it’s an attempt to discredit transparency and accountability. This pattern of targeting independent institutions has become a hallmark of this administration. Data experts have raised serious concerns about the erosion of trust in government statistics amid ongoing budget cuts and staff reductions at statistical agencies.

Instead of addressing rising costs, stagnant wages, and other challenges impacting working families, President Trump has chosen to attack those documenting these issues. For communities across New York State and especially in the Rochester region, reliable labor data is critical to understanding employment trends, wage growth, and opportunity.

The Greater Rochester State Delegation joins in condemning this latest move by an administration more interested in controlling the narrative than confronting economic realities.