NEWS: Congressman Greg Casar Leads Letter Warning Trump’s Partisan Firing of Economics Data Head Could Cost Jobs
WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, Congressman Greg Casar (D-Texas) led 87 members of Congress calling on Donald Trump to reverse his partisan firing of a top government official in charge of collecting data on U.S. jobs. They warn that Trump’s firing could “harm the creation of jobs and reduce investment in America” by undermining businesses’ ability to rely on crucial government data used to plan investments.
Trump fired Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer last week and on Tuesday announced plans to replace her with E. J. Antoni, an economist for a right-wing think tank.
The members warn that Trump’s “politically motivated actions mean people in business and finance across the country and around the world may no longer rely on U.S. government data as an unquestioned source about the state of the economy. Businesses rely on government data to make decisions about hiring, wage setting and investment.”
The members write that Trump’s firing of McEntarfer is a “clear attempt to hide the reality of [his] failed policies from the American people.” They argue that recent negative jobs reports, which reportedly sparked Trump’s decision to fire McEntarfer, “should serve as a wake-up call to your administration. Your policies are harming Americans. You must immediately reverse course on these policies, hire back Dr. McEntarfer, and apologize for absurdly impugning her integrity for your political gain.”
The letter was led by Congressman Greg Casar (TX-35) and signed by Adams, Alma (NC-12); Amo, Gabe (RI-01); Ansari, Yassamin (AZ-03); Balint, Becca (VT-At Large); Barragán, Nanette (CA-44); Bonamici, Suzanne (OR-01); Boyle, Brendan (PA-02); Bynum, Janelle (OR-05); Carson, André (IN-07); Carter, Troy (LA-02); Casten, Sean (IL-06); Chu, Judy (CA-28); Cisneros, Gil (CA-31); Cleaver, Emanuel (MO-05); Costa, Jim (CA-21); Courtney, Joe (CT-02); Davis, Danny (IL-07); Dean, Madeleine (PA-04); DelBene, Suzan (WA-01); Dexter, Maxine (OR-03); Dingell, Debbie (MI-06); Doggett, Lloyd (TX-37); Elfreth, Sarah (MD-03); Escobar, Veronica (TX-16); Espaillat, Adriano (NY-13); Evans, Dwight (PA-03); Fields, Cleo (LA-06); Friedman, Laura (CA-30); Frost, Maxwell (FL-10); Garamendi, John (CA-08); García, Jesús “Chuy” (IL-04); Garcia, Sylvia (TX-29); Horsford, Steven (NV-04); Hoyle, Val (OR-04); Huffman, Jared (CA-02); Jackson, Jonathan (IL-01); Jayapal, Pramila (WA-07); Johnson, Hank (GA-04); Johnson, Julie (TX-32); Kaptur, Marcy (OH-09); Keating, Bill (MA-09); Kelly, Robin (IL-02); Khanna, Ro (CA-17); Krishnamoorthi, Raja (IL-08); Lee, Summer (PA-12); Leger Fernandez, Teresa (NM-03); Lynch, Stephen (MA-08); McClellan, Jennifer (VA-04); McCollum, Betty (MN-04); McIver, LaMonica (NJ-10); Meeks, Gregory (NY-05); Meng, Grace (NY-06); Mfume, Kweisi (MD-07); Moore, Gwen (WI-04); Morrison, Kelly (MN-03); Moulton, Seth (MA-06); Mullin, Kevin (CA-15); Norcross, Donald (NJ-01); Norton, Eleanor Holmes (DC-At Large); Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria (NY-14); Omar, Ilhan (MN-05); Pallone, Frank (NJ-06); Panetta, Jimmy (CA-19); Pingree, Chellie (ME-01); Pocan, Mark (WI-02); Ramirez, Delia (IL-03); Ross, Deborah (NC-02); Schakowsky, Jan (IL-09); Sherman, Brad (CA-32); Simon, Lateefah (CA-12); Soto, Darren (FL-09); Swalwell, Eric (CA-14); Sykes, Emilia (OH-13); Takano, Mark (CA-39); Thanedar, Shri (MI-13); Thompson, Bennie (MS-02); Thompson, Mike (CA-04); Thompson, Mike (CA-04); Tlaib, Rashida (MI-12); Tokuda, Jill (HI-02); Tonko, Paul (NY-20); Torres, Ritchie (NY-15); Vargas, Juan (CA-52); Velázquez, Nydia (NY-07); Watson Coleman, Bonnie (NJ-12); and Williams, Nikema (GA-05).
A full copy of the letter to Trump is available here.
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Congressman Greg Casar represents Texas’s 35th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, which runs down I-35 from East Austin to Hays County to the West Side of San Antonio. A labor organizer and son of Mexican immigrants, Casar serves as the Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus for the 119th Congress. He also serves on the Committee on Education and Labor and the Committee on Oversight and Accountability.