Out former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg summed up the end result of Donald Trumps latest move to conceal economic data in just two words: third-rate country.Buttigieg took to social media to post about how Trump fired Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Commissioner Erika McEntarfer this past Friday after she reported employment data that showed a weaker U.S. economy than what was predicted. Related Pete Buttigieg says politicians have no business making decisions about trans athletes He also emphasized the need for compassion for all parties involved in the debate. The President sees a bad jobs report, and responds by getting rid of the person in charge of the statistics, he wrote on X in a post that got nearly 100,000 likes. This is how America becomes a third-rate country, he added.The President sees a bad jobs report, and responds by getting rid of the person in charge of the statistics. This is how America becomes a third-rate country. https://t.co/yFghlwSaTA Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) August 2, 2025 Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The BLS is a fact-finding federal agency that operates within the Department of Labor and is part of the U.S. Federal Statistical System. Established in 1884, it reports data on the U.S. economy to the public, Congress, state and local governments, and other interested parties. On Friday, the BLS released a report that showed that the U.S. added 73,000 jobs in July, which is less than the forecasted 109,000 new jobs for the month. The agency also revised down its jobs numbers for May and June by 250,000. Its not unusual for the BLS to revise jobs numbers as reports come in from employers. Trump disagreed with the numbers, writing on Truth Social on Friday: The Economy is BOOMING under TRUMP.' He also said that the report was RIGGED by federal workers who want to sabotage his administration. He offered no evidence other than his assertion that the economy is doing better than what the data says. Trump was criticized for firing McEntarfer because he didnt like what the report had to say, and not just by Buttigieg.Firing the head of a key government agency because you dont like the numbers they report, which come from surveys using long-established procedures, is what happens in authoritarian countries, not democratic ones, said former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. Republicans are already calling for McEntarfer to be replaced by a party loyalist instead of an expert. White House strategist Steve Bannon said on his podcast on Friday that Trump should pick a MAGA Republican to run the BLS.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.