The BLS produces data relied on by businesses and policymakers, including the Fed.

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.

What happens next can only go wrong for him and the U.S. Here’s what experts and critics are arguing in the aftermath.