Item 1 of 2 German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil holds a news conference in Berlin, Germany July 30, 2025. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo
[1/2] German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil holds a news conference in Berlin, Germany July 30, 2025. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab
WASHINGTON, Aug 4 (Reuters) – State institutions should be independent and free from politics, German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said on Monday when asked about U.S. President Donald Trump’s firing of the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“I consider this political approach to be wrong and believe that it is right for independent institutions to remain independent and for politics not to interfere,” Klingbeil said.
Trump fired BLS head Erika McEntarfer on the heels of a market-shocking weak scorecard of the U.S. job market, accusing her without evidence of manipulating the figures.
Ahead of a meeting with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Klingbeil said democracies are on the right path when they preserve the independence and strength of institutions.
“I can only tell you that my political style is not to launch such attacks on independent, neutral, and proven institutions, as is apparently happening here,” Klingbeil said.
Klingbeil also said there was a lot to clarify about the European Union’s trade deal with the United States, adding that the bloc had been too weak during the negotiations.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab
Suggested Topics:
Maria Martinez is a Reuters correspondent in Berlin covering German economics and the ministry of finance. Maria previously worked at Dow Jones Newswires in Barcelona covering European economics and at Bloomberg, Debtwire and the New York Stock Exchange in New York City. She graduated with a Master of International Affairs at Columbia University as a Fulbright scholar.
Read Next
Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his security cabinet this week to decide on Israel’s next steps in Gaza following the collapse of indirect ceasefire talks with Hamas, with one senior Israeli source suggesting more force could be an option.
Site Index
About Reuters
Stay Informed
Information you can trust
Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world’s media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers.