The Bureau of Labor Statistics is an agency within the
US Dept. of Labor. Kevin Carter/Getty Images
Reactions to Trump’s firing of labor statistics chief rolled in all weekend. The president dismissed Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of labor statistics, on Friday, following the release of a weak jobs report for July and major downward revisions to the numbers of jobs created in May and June. Republican Sen. Rand Paul told NBC News, “When the people providing the statistics are fired, it makes it much harder to make judgments that, you know, the statistics won’t be politicized.” On Sunday, White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett defended Trump’s move on Meet the Press, saying of data coming out of the agency, “There have been a bunch of patterns that could make people wonder.” Popular data guy Nate Silver explained the extensive history of Bureau of Labor Statistics revisions in his newsletter, Silver Bulletin, and concluded that the revised figures were likely not political. He noted, “The revisions usually don’t get as much media attention as the headline figures.”
Over 3,200 Boeing fighter jet workers went on strike. For the first time since 1996, members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers working in St. Louis and Illinois stopped work after rejecting a second contract offer from Boeing on Sunday. They are responsible for assembling the F-15 and the F/A-18 defense aircraft, as well as building missiles. Boeing VP Dan Gillian said the company is “prepared for a strike and have fully implemented our contingency plan to ensure our non-striking workforce can continue supporting our customers.” Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said on the company’s Q2 earnings call last week that he was not overly concerned about the impending strike, given that it was much smaller than the one that occurred last fall, when about 30,000 machinists in Washington state went on strike, impacting the production of 737 and 777 commercial jets.
Texas Democrats left their state to break a GOP quorum on redistricting. The TX House Democratic Caucus Chair, Gene Wu, said that he believed 57 of 62 members of the caucus left the state to defy a special session at the statehouse called by Gov. Greg Abbott, effectively blocking a vote on a plan to redraw the state’s US House map to attempt to flip five Democratic seats in the 2026 midterm elections. Most of the 57 went to Illinois at the invitation of Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, but some went to Boston and Albany, NY. They risk incurring a $500-a-day fine while being absent from work, and Abbott has threatened their removal from office. While their absence can’t stop the passage of the bill, the Democrats are hoping to “run out the clock” on the special 30-day session, according to ABC News. On Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said of the lawmakers, “As long as the governor is willing to keep calling sessions, ultimately they have to come home.”—HVL
Reactions to Trump’s firing of labor statistics chief rolled in all weekend. The president dismissed Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of labor statistics, on Friday, following the release of a weak jobs report for July and major downward revisions to the numbers of jobs created in May and June. Republican Sen. Rand Paul told NBC News, “When the people providing the statistics are fired, it makes it much harder to make judgments that, you know, the statistics won’t be politicized.” On Sunday, White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett defended Trump’s move on Meet the Press, saying of data coming out of the agency, “There have been a bunch of patterns that could make people wonder.” Popular data guy Nate Silver explained the extensive history of Bureau of Labor Statistics revisions in his newsletter, Silver Bulletin, and concluded that the revised figures were likely not political. He noted, “The revisions usually don’t get as much media attention as the headline figures.” Over 3,200 Boeing fighter jet workers went on strike. For the first time since 1996, members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers working in St. Louis and Illinois stopped work after rejecting a second contract offer from Boeing on Sunday. They are responsible for assembling the F-15 and the F/A-18 defense aircraft, as well as building missiles. Boeing VP Dan Gillian said the company is “prepared for a strike and have fully implemented our contingency plan to ensure our non-striking workforce can continue supporting our customers.” Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said on the company’s Q2 earnings call last week that he was not overly concerned about the impending strike, given that it was much smaller than the one that occurred last fall, when about 30,000 machinists in Washington state went on strike, impacting the production of 737 and 777 commercial jets. Texas Democrats left their state to break a GOP quorum on redistricting. The TX House Democratic Caucus Chair, Gene Wu, said that he believed 57 of 62 members of the caucus left the state to defy a special session at the statehouse called by Gov. Greg Abbott, effectively blocking a vote on a plan to redraw the state’s US House map to attempt to flip five Democratic seats in the 2026 midterm elections. Most of the 57 went to Illinois at the invitation of Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, but some went to Boston and Albany, NY. They risk incurring a $500-a-day fine while being absent from work, and Abbott has threatened their removal from office. While their absence can’t stop the passage of the bill, the Democrats are hoping to “run out the clock” on the special 30-day session, according to ABC News. On Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said of the lawmakers, “As long as the governor is willing to keep calling sessions, ultimately they have to come home.”—HVL
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