U.S. stocks lost $1.1 trillion on Friday, Aug. 1, capping a tumultuous day that saw President Donald Trump reportedly fire Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) commissioner Erika McEntarfer for producing jobs figures he called “rigged.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 500 points, or about 1.2%, while the S&P 500 dropped by 1.6%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite sank around 2.2%. All three major indexes registered weekly declines exceeding 2%, suggesting amplified investor concern over the direction of the U.S. economy.

The BLS’ July report, which indicated the U.S. economy added only 79,000 jobs versus a projected 104,000, sparked fears that Trump’s tariff policy may be hurting the U.S. economy. Mindful of these concerns, Trump responded to the disappointing data by laying into McEntarfer, who has been in the job since 2023. In a social media post, Trump claimed the BLS had released “rigged” jobs figures to make him and the Republican party look bad. A later report by the BBC said Trump had made good on his threat by firing McEntarfer.

According to a report, this decision has drawn condemnation from across the political divide. Larry Summers, who served as a Treasury secretary in the Bush administration, warned the move smacks of an authoritarian regime and not a democracy.

“Firing the head of a key government agency because you don’t like the numbers they report, which come from surveys using long established procedures, is what happens in authoritarian countries, not democratic ones,” Summers warned.

Some have warned that removing McEntarfer for doing her job diminishes trust in the agency and gives rise to a perception that future data will not reflect the reality on the ground. However, others have questioned Trump’s move to fire McEntarfer, noting her agency’s data bolsters his demand that the Federal Reserve cut interest rates.

In an X post querying what they termed self-sabotage, a social media account called Real World Asset Watchlist said the “fake” data released by the BLS was exactly what Trump needed. The account explained that the market immediately repriced rate-cut odds, with the probability of a September rate cut jumping from 40% to over 80%. This sent the dollar plunging by more than 1%.

“Some analysts are now calling for a 50bp cut instead of 25bp. This data was Trump’s golden ticket to pressure Powell,” the post added. The July jobs data, instead of undermining his argument for a rate cut, bolsters Trump’s case and increases pressure on the Federal Reserve, Real World Asset Watchlist added. The social media post also reiterated fears that this “direct attack” on the independence of statistical agencies will have long-lasting negative implications.

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