Brett Matsumoto, President Donald Trump's nominee for the Bureau of Labor Statistics, withdrew his name from consideration following criticism and stated his belief in the agency's data integrity.
The nominee's stance on data integrity is crucial for public trust in economic statistics and counters potential political interference in government data collection.
Brett Matsumoto, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), stated during his confirmation hearing that he does not believe the agency's data has been fabricated. This directly counters accusations made by Trump against the previous BLS commissioner regarding job numbers. Matsumoto, an economist who has worked at the BLS since 2015 and is currently on leave at the White House's Council of Economic Advisers, expressed faith in the career staff who collect and process the data. He assured the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that he would ensure their output is what is published by the agency. He acknowledged that technical issues could explain large data revisions but denied any belief in fabricated data. Trump had previously fired the former BLS commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, following a monthly employment report that included significant revisions to job creation figures. Matsumoto declined to comment on Trump's specific allegations, stating the president's statements speak for themselves. However, he committed to maintaining the integrity and independence of the BLS if confirmed. If confirmed, Matsumoto would oversee an agency grappling with data-quality issues stemming from poor survey response rates and chronic understaffing. He identified mitigating the decline in survey response rates as a key priority, suggesting exploration of incentives and alternative data sources. Matsumoto also stressed that as the sole political appointee, data decisions should originate from the expert career staff.
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