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Wall Street Journal

The Agenda Behind the BLS Head's Firing

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in February disbanded the Federal Economic Statistics Advisory Committee, a group that advised the government on producing accurate economic statistics. In an email announcing the decision, Mr. Lutnick explained that the committee's mission 'has been fulfilled.' At the same time, the Commerce Department disbanded another group concerned with the accuracy of economic releases by the government: the Bureau of Economic Analysis Advisory Committee. Mr. Lutnick's explanation for terminating the Federal Economic Statistics Advisory Committee made no sense. Input from disinterested experts drawn from across industry and academia is a good idea. But now it seems that Mr. Lutnick was taking marching orders to fulfill his boss's desire to control economic data. On Aug. 1 President Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the agency that releases the government's monthly employment report. The president claimed the most recent numbers were 'phony' and 'rigged' to make him and Republicans look bad.