Trump Accidentally Makes 'Right' Call

Suzanne Lucas has a thought-provoking take on Donald Trump's recent firing of the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Erika McEntarfer.

First, after noting that the BLS had had a series of larger-than-normal adjustments under McEntarfer, Lucas concludes that there was ample reason to let her go:

A methodological challenge that continues over time does indicate a level of incompetence and a violation of duty. McEntarfer's job is to get the numbers right, and the BLS has had multiple large errors under the same commissioner. It is worth investigating. In the private sector, errors of this magnitude would likely be considered grounds for termination of an employee. A person doesn't have to be willfully misbehaving to lose their job.

That said, repeated wrong numbers, as has happened under McEntarfer, indicate problems at the BLS.

There needs to be more transparency around the numbers, and it's perfectly reasonable that after the significant changes in 2024, the BLS should have revamped its methodology and achieved more accurate results.

It's doubtful that McEntarfer crunched the numbers herself. Undoubtedly, these reports are the work of a team.

Ultimately, the leader is responsible for the team's output... [bold added]

I have not done any kind of a deep dive into this story, but this sounds plausible. It's also the first time I've seen anyone non-partisan go beyond something like They always have to revise the numbers, which is true.

That said, Lucas calls Trump out for screwing up everything else:

It was foolish of him to blame politics, as there isn't evidence to support that claim. While lower-level employees should be given more leeway, additional training, and time to fix problems, senior-level people either need to perform correctly or leave.

These significant revisions indicate that the BLS isn't using proper methodologies, and despite changes in 2024, they have still not corrected them. By turning this into a political fight rather than one of methodology, Trump ensures McEntarfer's replacement will be seen through a partisan lens, which is not a good plan for the BLS. [bold added]

And really, given that Trump's firing was arbitrary, Lucas is generous to give him any credit at all for this.

McEntarfer should have been fired, but Trump did that part by accident in the midst of a tantrum and, to all appearances, in an effort to plug a gap in the yes-men he has chosen to surround himself with.

It is too bad that the people who should hold Trump accountable for that have so far shown no inclination to do so.

-- CAV