Updated August 22, 2025 at 11:58 AM PDT
President Trump insists that tariffs are driving an economic boom, but the data tells a more complicated story. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., denounced Trump's tariffs and firing of a senior Labor official, saying Congress must "get its power back."
"He needs to get this under control, and if he won't do it himself, Congress's role — and the Democrats are united on this — is to be a check on him," Klobuchar told Morning Edition.
When Trump won the election last fall, the U.S. economy was doing pretty well. The Economist magazine called it the envy of the world. But things have gone awry since then. Last week, data revealed that, six months into the president's term, job growth is slowing down, inflation is speeding up and the overall economy is growing more slowly now than it did in each of the last two years. The data raises questions about the president's aggressive pursuits on policies like tariffs and mass deportations, which economists have warned would negatively impact the economy.
Trump was unhappy about the jobs numbers, saying they were "RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad." He then fired Bureau of Labor Statistics head Erika McEntarfer, who put out the jobs report. Her term was not supposed to end until 2028.
U.S. government data has long been considered the gold standard.
Klobuchar is a member of Congress's bipartisan Joint Economic Committee, which serves as an advisory panel for both chambers and the White House on taxes, labor and other economic policies. She said Trump's firing of the senior labor official is his attempt to "create an alternative universe."
Klobuchar spoke with NPR's Michel Martin about why the job market is weakening, Trump's response to the job numbers and how Congress should "reassert" itself and regain its power.
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Interview Highlights
Michel Martin: We heard about the recent disappointing job numbers, some troubling outlooks for inflation and for overall economic growth, but federal data also shows that tariffs are bringing in a lot of revenue for the government. The Treasury Department indicates these tariffs brought in nearly $30 billion last month. Does that weaken the case against them?
Sen. Amy Klobuchar: I don't believe it does because that is a short-term gain. And when you really look at the underpinnings of this economy, which was in fact not just stable but growing when President Trump came into office, what do we see now? We've lost manufacturing jobs every month since Trump's so-called Liberation Day. We just saw the Dow Jones fall by over 500 points. We've seen higher inflation. And while the president's answer may be to fire the well-respected statistician [...] what he was trying to do there is create an alternative universe. People's grocery receipts don't lie. Their rent doesn't lie. Their childcare costs don't lie. He has literally taken a jewel of economy and created a mess. And most importantly, it's on the backs of regular people.
Martin: What are you hearing from your colleagues on the Joint Economic Committee, including Republicans?
Klobuchar: Well, not just on the Joint Economic Committee, but throughout the Senate, people behind closed doors say they don't like these tariffs if they're Republicans. But yet they still vote to rubber-stamp what he's doing time and time again. They get it. They're hearing from their own constituents. Small businesses like the flower shop in Minnesota that's actually been undercut by a foreign competitor who doesn't have to pay the kind of tariffs, retaliatory tariffs, that we see now in America. Or the owner of a small hotel who's not getting Canadians in because they're so pissed off, not only about the tariffs that have now gone up to 35%, but also on the 51st state comments. And so they're just not coming to America in nearly the numbers — 30, 40% down. Or a farmer whose markets dried up for soybeans. That's what they are hearing. They know it. They represent a lot of rural states, but yet they did not vote with [Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.,] and myself when we led an effort to at least overturn the Canadian tariffs. And that is one answer. Congress should just reassert itself, get its power back. The other answer is the courts, Michel. In that case, they soundly said, "No, this is wrong under the law, what the president is doing." And that is now on appeal. The appeals court sided with the original court as well. And the third thing is just the people of America saying "enough is enough" so he stops this madness.
Martin: So let me just hone in on a couple of these things that you just mentioned here. Minnesota is among the states and businesses suing the Trump administration for imposing these tariffs without the approval of Congress. Now, you've just criticized some of your colleagues from the other side of the aisle, saying that they're just "rubber-stamping" the president's actions. But having said that, is there any zone of agreement between Republicans and Democrats where Congress might be willing to assert itself?
Klobuchar: Well, even on the one I mentioned on the Canada tariffs, we won that. Four Republicans joined us, two who [represent] states that border Canada, [Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska,] and two who hardly agree on much, [Senators] Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, they're from Kentucky and they agreed that they wanted Kentucky bourbon on the shelves in the liquor stores in Canada. So you are already seeing this growing concern about these tariffs on the Republican side, but it doesn't appear to be enough to cross Donald Trump. So once you reach that point and they keep hearing from their constituents when it's a $2,400 tax for every family in America, and $300 of that is grocery prices? Then maybe they'll join us this fall. [...] He needs to get this under control, and if he won't do it himself, Congress's role — and the Democrats are united on this — is to be a check on him.
Martin: President Trump alleged without evidence that some of these weak job numbers were, "rigged." He fired the top labor official. Have you seen anything, or did any of your colleagues on the Joint Economic Committee raise any red flags about the way the numbers are counted?
Klobuchar: Not one bit. And I think the best proof of that is if you listen to the words of the former people that held this job, including the one appointed by Donald Trump, they joined in and issued for statisticians what is a very strong statement. They said, "The President seeks to blame someone for unwelcome economic news." I might use stronger words, but that's what they said. The commissioner does not determine what the numbers are, but simply reports on what the data shows. And, as pointed out by your economist that was just interviewed and what so many economists have said, one of the most amazing things about America is people trust us. They trust our data worldwide. [...] Having this key person in place that transcends politics is so important. And these numbers don't lie.
Adapted for web by Destinee Adams and edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
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