Wednesday, August 6, 2025. Annette’s Roundup for Democracy.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics firing seems to be a turning point.
Capitalism depends on honest numbers. Without them, many aspects of the social and economic order become dissolve or become shaky, at best.
From Thomas Friedman, New York Times columnist-
The America We Knew Is Rapidly Slipping Away.
Of all the terrible things Donald Trump has said and done as president, the most dangerous one just happened on Friday. Trump, in effect, ordered our trusted and independent government office of economic statistics to become as big a liar as he is.
He fired Erika McEntarfer, the Senate-confirmed head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, for bringing him economic news he did not like, and in the hours immediately following, the second most dangerous thing happened: The senior Trump officials most responsible for running our economy — people who in their private businesses never would have contemplated firing a subordinate who brought them financial data they did not like — all went along for the ride.
What they should have said to Trump is this: “Mr. President, if you don’t reconsider this decision — if you fire the top labor bureau statistician because she brought you bad economic news — how will anyone in the future trust that office when it issues good news?” Instead, they immediately covered for him.
As The Wall Street Journal pointed out, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer had actually gone on Bloomberg TV early Friday and declared that even though the jobs report that had just been released was revised downward for May and June, “we’ve seen positive job growth.” But as soon as she got the news hours later that Trump had fired the very B.L.S. director who reports to her, she wrote on X: “I agree wholeheartedly with @POTUS that our jobs numbers must be fair, accurate, and never manipulated for political purposes.”
As The Journal asked: “So were the jobs data that were ‘positive’ in the morning rigged by the afternoon?” Of course not.
The moment I heard what Trump had done, I had a flashback. It was January 2021, and it had just been reported that Trump, after losing the 2020 election, had tried to pressure Georgia’s Republican secretary of state to “find” him enough votes — exactly 11,780, Trump said — to overturn the presidential election and even threatened him with “a criminal offense” if he didn’t. The pressure came during an hourlong telephone call, according to an audio recording of the conversation.
The difference, though, is that back then there was something called a Republican official with integrity. And so Georgia’s secretary of state did not agree to fabricate votes that did not exist. But that species of Republican official seems to have gone completely extinct in Trump’s second term. So Trump’s rotten character is now a problem for our whole economy.
Going forward, how many government bureaucrats are going to dare to pass along bad news when they know that their bosses — people like Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the director of the National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, the Labor Secretary Chavez-DeRemer and the U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer — will not only fail to defend them but will actually offer them up as a sacrifice to Trump to keep their jobs?
Shame on each and every one of them — particularly on Bessent, a former hedge fund manager, who knows better and did not step in. What a coward. As Bessent’s predecessor, Janet Yellen, the former Treasury secretary and also the former chair of the Federal Reserve — and a person with actual integrity — told my Times colleague Ben Casselman of the B.L.S. firing: “This is the kind of thing you would only expect to see in a banana republic.”
It is important to know how foreigners are looking at this. Bill Blain, a London-based bond trader who publishes a newsletter popular among market experts called Blain’s Morning Porridge, wrote on Monday: “Friday, Aug. 1 might go down in history as the day the U.S. Treasury market died. There was an art to reading U.S. data. It relied on trust. Now that is broken — if you can’t trust the data, what can you trust?”
He then went on to imagine how his Porridge newsletter will sound in May 2031. It will begin, he wrote, with “a link to a release from Trump’s Ministry of Economic Truth, formerly the U.S. Treasury: ‘Under the leadership of President Trump, the U.S. economy continues to grow at record speed. Payrolls data from the Ministry of Truth, a subsidiary of Truth Social, show full employment across America. Tensions in the inner cities have never been so low. All recent graduates have found highly paid jobs across America’s expanding manufacturing sector, causing many large companies in Trump Inc to report significant labor shortages.’”
If you think this is far-fetched, you clearly have not been following the foreign policy news, because this kind of tactic — the tailoring of information to fit Trump’s political needs — has already been deployed in the intelligence field.
In May the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, fired two top intelligence officials who oversaw an assessment that contradicted Trump’s assertions that the gang Tren de Aragua was operating under the direction of the Venezuelan regime. Their assessment undermined the dubious legal rationale Trump invoked — the rarely used 1798 Alien Enemies Act — to allow the suspected gang members to be thrown out of the country without due process.
And now this trend toward self-blinding is spreading to further corners of the government.
One of America’s premier cyberwarriors, Jen Easterly, who was the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency during the Biden administration, had her appointment to a senior teaching position at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point revoked last week by Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll after Laura Loomer, a far-right conspiracy theorist, posted that Easterly was a Biden-era mole.
Read that sentence again very slowly. The Army secretary, acting on the guidance of a loony Trump acolyte, revoked the teaching appointment of — anyone will tell you — one of America’s most skilled nonpartisan cyberwarriors, herself a graduate of West Point.
And when you are done reading that, read Easterly’s response on LinkedIn: “As a lifelong independent, I’ve served our nation in peacetime and combat under Republican and Democratic administrations. I’ve led missions at home and abroad to protect all Americans from vicious terrorists …. I’ve worked my entire career not as a partisan, but as a patriot — not in pursuit of power, but in service to the country I love and in loyalty to the Constitution I swore to protect and defend, against all enemies.”
And then she added this advice to the young West Pointers she will not have the honor of teaching: “Every member of the Long Gray Line knows the Cadet Prayer. It asks that we ‘choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong.’ That line — so simple, yet so powerful — has been my North Star for more than three decades. In boardrooms and war rooms. In quiet moments of doubt and in public acts of leadership. The harder right is never easy. That’s the whole point.”
That is the woman Trump did not want teaching our next generation of fighters.
And that ethic — always choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong — is the ethic that Bessent, Hassett, Chavez-DeRemer and Greer know nothing of — not to mention Trump himself.
That is why, dear reader, though I am a congenital optimist, for the first time I believe that if the behavior that this administration has exhibited in just its first six months continues and is amplified for its full four years, the America you know will be gone. And I don’t know how we will get it back. (Thomas Friedman. Columnist.New York Times.)
Here’s why Trump’s excuses for firing jobs-data chief Erika McEntarfer don’t add up.
One-third of 1 million Americans get hired or leave their jobs every day, including Sundays. — Getty Images/iStockphoto
Let’s not pretend that President Trump fired the Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner on Friday because of supposed “inaccuracies” like these.
There are 163 million jobs in America right now. If you overestimated the job market’s expansion by 258,000 over two months, that would be an error rate of 0.16%. Or, to put it another way, it would mean that your first, early estimate was 99.84% correct.
And if you initially overestimated that expansion by 112,000 jobs over two months, that would be an error rate of 0.07%. Your first guess would have been 99.93% correct.
And even if you initially overestimated the expansion by 818,000 jobs, that would be an error rate of. 0.5%. Your initial estimate would have been 99.5% correct.
So let’s not pretend that President Donald Trump fired the commissioner of labor statistics on Friday because of these supposedly egregious errors, which he cited as examples of Erika McEntarfer’s allegedly venality and “incompetence.”
Phooey.
“No one can be that wrong?” the president wrote on his social-media platform.
This from a man who filed for bankruptcy six times — three of them while running a casino.
The president combined the firing with a public personal attack on McEntarfer. In reply, she merely said that holding the job had been an honor.
The reasons Trump gave for firing McEntarfer don’t stack up — neither the facts themselves nor the alleged logic.
There are the supposed “inaccuracies” ranging from 0.5% to 0.07%, mentioned above.
There’s also the alleged conspiracy — yes, again — against the president.
Trump said these revisions to the jobs numbers were deliberately engineered to hurt him.
Huh?
These revisions have been happening for years. Decades. It’s what happens when you try to come up with real-time estimates of job growth in the world’s biggest and most dynamic economy. You come up with your initial estimate, then you revise it when you get more data.
On average, about 330,000 people in America leave their job or get hired every single day. Including Sundays. Here’s a document.
When Barack Obama was president.
Were these revisions under Obama also part of the deep-state conspiracy against Trump? Talk about playing the long game.
All of this leaves open the president’s real reasons for firing McEntarfer. Was it just to “dominate” yet another news cycle and distract the public from the bad jobs numbers? Or from the Jeffrey Epstein news?
Was it to lash out at yet another perceived “enemy”? Or was it, as many suspect, so that Trump could seize control of the government’s most important statistics agency and install a loyalist who can produce more favorable numbers?
Trump economic adviser Kevin Hassett on Sunday seemed to confirm that the last explanation was the real one, when he said that the president “wants his own people” at the BLS.
Trump says he will appoint a replacement within a few days. Stay tuned. (Barrons)
About the author.
Brett Arends is an award-winning financial writer with many years experience writing about markets, economics and personal finance. He has received an individual award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers for his financial writing, and was part of the Boston Herald team that won two others. He has worked as an analyst at McKinsey Co., and is a Chartered Financial Consultant. His latest book, "Storm Proof Your Money", was published by John Wiley Co.
Today is the day!
A Prelude to 2026?
What will pressure like this have on Republican Congresspeople? 👇
Vote him out! Town Hall erupts in anger at GOP congressman.
There were about 750 members in the audience, the congressman said.
House Republican Rep. Mike Flood faced what appeared to be a hostile crowd during a rowdy town hall on Monday night in Lincoln, Nebraska.
The crowd erupted within just minutes of the start of the forum, shouting and heckling at the congressman as he touted President Donald Trump's massive policy and tax bill that was signed into law in July.
Flood said there were about 750 members in the audience at Kimball Hall.
"I know this is probably going to be met with some resistance ... I want the opportunity to tell you and talk to you about health care in the bill we just passed. I want to go right into this bill, because I know this is something a lot of people have questions about. And quite frankly, from where I sit, there's been a lot of misinformation out there about the bill," Flood told the crowd, which received loud boos from the audience.
He tried to walk the audience through key health care provisions of the megabill but was continuously drowned out by the raucous crowd.
"The only way we're going to get through tonight is if I get a chance to tell you why I voted, because ultimately I represent you, and you will have your say," he said.
The megabill's impact on Medicaid was a main topic brought up at the town hall, which angered the audience.
"So, here's a question. Do you think that people who are 28 years old that can work and refuse to work, should get free health care?" Flood asked, which received an unfriendly response from the crowd. "I don't think that a majority of Nebraskans agree with you."
The congressman argued that while Medicaid benefits were not cut, the changes to the program don't "involve anybody that's disabled, that is of senior age and unable to work, anybody that is pregnant or the vulnerable."
When asked by an audience member how the congressman can justify taking away health care from Nebraskans, Flood brushed off the concern.
"We have a state where our infrastructure is going to be supported, is going to be funded, and is going to be available for the people that need it. If you are able to work, and you're 28 years old and you choose not to work, you don't get free health care in America. If you are in this country illegally, you do not get free health care in America."
Sarah Davis of Lincoln, Nebraska, shouts after asking U.S. Representative Mike Flood a question during a town hall in Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S., August 4, 2025.
Audience members repeatedly shouted, "Tax the Rich! Tax the Rich! Tax the Rich!" as Rep. Flood discussed tax provisions of the megabill like no tax on tips and no tax on overtime.
The congressman pushed back, saying, "If we adopted the Democrats' plan in the last Congress to tax the rich, it would generate $50 billion, which does not take us close to where we're going. And it cuts job creation. It cuts business creation. It cuts the ability for employers to invest in their businesses."
"This bill is a middle-class tax cut," Rep. Flood said at one point, which received strong pushback and boos from the audience.
"I read the bill," the congressman added when pressed by a constituent. "Is every bill perfect? No. But I supported this bill."
Rep. Flood took several questions on a wide range of topics but the audience was remained not satisfied, yelling, "vote him out!" as the hour-and-a-half event came to a close. (ABC News).
Beto O'Rourke To Hold A Town Hall At U. Of Nebraska Tonight https://t.co/Z5slxMHUns
— Crooks and Liars (@crooksandliars) August 5, 2025
When will Republican Senators draw the line?
Two Senate Republicans are now blocking a confirmation vote for three of President Donald Trump's nominees to positions in the U.S. Treasury Department in protest of one of the administration's newest policies.
Grassley of Iowa and Curtis of Utah.
Politico's Kelsey Tamborino and Josh Siegel reported Monday that Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and John Curtis (R-Utah) are now holding up votes for Treasury Department general counsel Brian Morissey, assistant Treasury Secretary Francis Brooke and Treasury Department undersecretary Jonathan McKernan. According to Politico, Grassley and Curtis are blocking the officials' confirmation to protect lucrative solar and wind energy projects in their states. And they're apparently not the only Senate Republicans willing to go to the mat for those projects.
"The pair, alongside other GOP senators, have escalated their pressure on the Trump administration in recent days to back off its efforts to strangle new solar and wind energy projects, warning that potential cancellations would make it harder to meet growing power demand," Tamborino and Siegel wrote.
One part of Trump's massive new tax and spending law is the repealing of renewable energy investments made possible by former President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. As New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman detailed last month, the legislation will "kneecap America’s renewable energy industry" while making China the de facto world leader in green energy technology.
In July, Trump issued an executive order instructing the Treasury Department to "strictly enforce" provisions in the new law that end tax credits for renewable energy development, which would be the responsibility of the Treasury officials Curtis and Grassley are blockading. The order also specified when a project was said to have begun construction, which Grassley said goes against what Congress has already passed.
“What it means for a project to ‘begin construction’ has been well established by Treasury guidance for more than a decade. Moreover, Congress specifically references current Treasury guidance to set that term’s meaning in law,” the Iowa Republican said in the Congressional Record. “This is a case where both the law and congressional intent are clear.”
According to Politico, the tax and spending law defunds all projects slated to start generating power after 2027. Several Republicans fought for compromise language that was included in the final bill that allowed more time for renewable energy projects beginning construction in the next six months.(Alternet)
How will the GOP deal with the problem that won’t go away?
House Oversight Committee Issues Subpoenas for Epstein Files.
The committee’s Republican chairman requested that the documents from the Justice Department and former government officials be delivered by Aug. 19.
The House Oversight Committee issued a subpoena on Tuesday to the Justice Department for its files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier who died in federal prison awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, and Ghislaine Maxwell, his longtime associate.
The committee also sent subpoenas to 10 former Democratic and Republican government officials whom it said it was seeking to depose in relation to Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking and other crimes.
Representative James R. Comer of Kentucky, the committee’s Republican chairman, requested that the documents be delivered by Aug. 19.
Should the Justice Department fail to meet that deadline, it could set up a high-profile clash between the Trump administration and Congress over an issue that has sharply divided Republicans.
Mr. Comer was required to issue the 11 subpoenas after Democrats forced a vote on the motion in a key House subcommittee last month.
A number of Republicans broke from their party to back the measure. But the committee also expanded the request to include subpoenas for prominent political figures who held their positions during the lengthy investigation into Mr. Epstein.
Some of those subpoenas were for political rivals of Mr. Trump, including former President Bill Clinton, who was acquainted with Mr. Epstein, and Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state who ran for president against Mr. Trump in 2016. The Oversight Committee also issued subpoenas to Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel who investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election; James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director; and a number of former U.S. attorneys general who served under Democratic and Republican presidents, including Mr. Trump. (New York Times).
I probably would follow Instagram more if I knew posts like this 👇 would appear.
Touch to watch.
July 24-27
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