President Trump called the July jobs report "rigged" in a social media post on Monday morning, continuing to defend his firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer on Friday.

Washington

President Trump has removed Erika McEntarfer from her position as commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after a jobs report showed weaker-than-expected results and downward revisions for previous months. Trump claimed, without providing evidence, that the reports were politically motivated and described the data as 'rigged' to undermine Republican achievements.

The White House cited a series of data revisions as justification for the firing, but economic experts note that such revisions are a routine part of the reporting process due to late employer filings. The decision has drawn criticism from economists, policy experts, and lawmakers, including some Republicans, who warn that dismissing the agency head over unfavorable data could threaten the credibility of official economic statistics.

Trump calls jobs report "rigged" after firing labor statistics chief

Although we jump to this, a weak jobs report has led to the commissioner of the BLS losing her job. President Trump fired Erika McEntarfer, the head—now former head, I should say—of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, after Friday's weaker-than-expected July jobs report and the downward revisions we told you about on Friday from May and June. That's part of the reason. President Trump, without evidence, though, called these and prior reports politically motivated. We'll be announcing a new statistician sometime over the next three, four days. We had no confidence. I mean, the numbers were ridiculous, what she announced, but that was just one negative number. All of the numbers seemed to be great. CBS News correspondent Natalie Brand joins us from the White House with more on this. Natalie, good morning once again. So break down the White House's justification for this firing and also explain how it might impact the confidence we're all supposed to have in economic data. Good morning, Errol. This is still clearly on the president's mind. In a new social media post this morning, he again alleges that the numbers were rigged, as he said, and concocted to make Republican success look less stellar, according to his latest post, saying he will pick an exceptional replacement. You heard him there yesterday indicating that selection would come in a few days. Now, the administration has criticized the former commissioner for being a Biden appointee. But when asked what evidence they have to back up their claim that she manipulated the numbers, economic advisor Kevin Hassett pointed to a series of revisions. Here's more of what he has to say. The evidence is that there have been a bunch of revisions that could appear to partisans. Oh, I mean, the revisions are hard evidence. There've been a bunch of patterns that could make people wonder. And I think the most important thing for people to know is that it's the president's highest priority that the data be trusted. Hassett has said that data has become unreliable. He wants to make the process more transparent. But experts say, you know, this data is dependent on surveys from employers and that those employers or companies may not file everything on time. That often leads to the need for revisions of the jobs numbers. Again, experts saying this is very common. It's something we've seen time and time again in jobs reports. And overall, Errol, economists, policy experts, lawmakers, even some Republicans are really concerned about this firing, saying that it threatens the integrity of, you know, the economic data that we get from a trusted federal agency. And that just because you don't like the numbers, you can't fire the messenger. Yeah. And we've reported extensively on revisions up and down over the years when it comes to this data. So that's certainly something that is factual. Natalie Brand, with all of that, thank you very much.

A shipwreck off Yemen has killed at least 68 people, the UN's migration agency said, with dozens still missing after the boat carrying mostly Ethiopians sank.

Sana'a

Migrant boat sinks off Yemen, killing at least 68

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Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

Hamas says hunger crisis putting hostages at risk

U.S. President Donald Trump fired the U.S. commissioner of labour statistics after weak jobs numbers signaled tariffs weren’t yet leading to his promised economic boom.

Trump dismisses weak jobs numbers, fires labour statistics chief

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Santa Barbara

Wildfire season in North America shaping as worst on record

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Kamchatka Peninsula

Russian volcano erupts for first time in 600 years

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Former Trump prosecutor Jack Smith faces probe by U.S. watchdog

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As Suwayda

Humanitarian needs escalate in Sweida as truce frays

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Brussels

Rise of AI

EU's landmark AI act enters new phase

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Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Ukraine uncovers major drone procurement graft scheme

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Tel Aviv-Yafo

Israeli hostage families protest in Tel Aviv

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Rome

Pope Leo urges Catholic youth to spread faith and enthusiasm

President Trump explained why he fired Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer on Friday. Government data showed fewer jobs were added to the U.S. economy last month than expected.

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Anaconda

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Los Angeles

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Sderot

Hamas propaganda shows malnourished Israeli hostage

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Moscow

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U.S. President Donald Trump said he's ordered his administration to fire the commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, on the same day new data was released showing weak job growth in July. The Labor Department also sharply revised job growth for May and June down.

Trump orders firing of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner

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Bryan

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Ljubljana

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New York

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U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order increasing tariffs on Canadian goods that don't meet the terms of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement to 35 per cent.

Breakdown