‘Trump’s economy sucks’: Rep. Lieu slams admin on economy, civil rights

U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) has delivered scathing criticism of the administration in the past few weeks, most recently declaring that “Trump’s economy sucks” during a House Democratic press briefing on Sept. 9.

“Rules of math” prevail: Lieu’s rebuke encompassed multiple policy areas where he accused the administration of failures. At the briefing, he ridiculed Trump’s firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) commissioner Erika McEntarfer as pointless, noting that removing the agency head “doesn’t actually change the rules of math.”

He also characterized recent employment reports as consistently weak and cited rising unemployment, missed job growth targets and persistent inflation. His criticism came as separate federal data showed August job creation at just 22,000 positions, with unemployment reaching 4.3%. On healthcare, the congressman warned that Republican legislation would strip Medicaid coverage from millions while increasing insurance costs across various plan types.

On immigration and transparency: Beyond economic policy, Lieu has challenged administration actions he views as constitutional overreach. Following a Supreme Court immigration ruling that reversed a federal judge’s restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Los Angeles and essentially allowed for racial profiling, he said, “I’m outraged by this radical court and its extremist decisions that fly in the face of our Constitution. When the new Congress is sworn in, we are going to pass legislation to stop this racist crap.”

Lieu has also joined bipartisan demands for government transparency, pressing Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi to release Jeffrey Epstein documents she previously indicated were accessible but has not made public.