Trump’s unhinged, on-again, off-again tariff scheme led to an unexpectedly weak jobs report, with the BLS revising May and June payrolls to show the U.S. added 258,000 fewer jobs than it originally tallied. Instead of acknowledging that his economic policies might be responsible for the economic health that results, Trump attacked the economists.

Economists said ousting the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics could undermine confidence in government economic data.