National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett on Sunday defended Donald Trump’s decision to fire Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, claiming the president “wants his own people there.

President Trump announced the firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer on Friday, following the publication by the agency of a monthly jobs report for July that showed continued weakening of the US labor market.

Without evidence, Trump called the data "rigged" and implied that BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer manipulated the numbers "for political purposes."