Erika McEntarfer was a longtime US government employee who bore the brunt of President Trump’s unhappiness with Friday’s jobs report. She had served as BLS head for a year and a half.

But Trump’s firing of the BLS chief escalated his administration’s attack on information. Though researchers who rely on federal economic data say it’s too early to declare U.S. economic data untrustworthy, public trust in these essential information collection systems has been weakened.