On Friday, the White House stated it is “reviewing protocols” related to economic data releases. This follows President Donald Trump’s apparent disclosure of sensitive jobs information before its official release—a move economists labeled “unprecedented” and possibly a violation of long-standing federal policy.
In an off-the-record statement, a White House official explained the incident originated from “an accidental public disclosure” that occurred after the usual presidential briefings on economic data.
“This happened after the standard practice of presidents receiving prebriefings on economic data releases,” the official noted. “The White House is therefore reviewing protocols for economic data releases.”
The official pushed back against criticism of the disclosure, claiming media coverage had exaggerated its importance.
“Rather than grasping at straws to stir up another false controversy, the media should focus on what today’s job report actually reveals,” the official stated, adding that President Trump’s policies are “laying the foundation for an economic comeback as GDP and real wage growth keep accelerating.”
These comments come after Trump an image to Truth Social late Thursday evening containing figures from Friday morning’s nonfarm payrolls report—hours before the Bureau of Labor Statistics publicly released the data at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Office of Management and Budget policy executive branch officials from commenting on or releasing market-moving economic statistics before their official publication, and also bans public statements until at least 30 minutes post-release. Though presidents get advance briefings on jobs data, those sessions are kept confidential.
Bharat Kumar, an economist at financial firm Futures First, that the figures in Trump’s post aligned with the final numbers released Friday morning. Justin Wolfers, an economist and University of Michigan professor, said on the disclosure was “unprecedented,” noting no previous White House had ever released market-moving jobs data early.
“No responsible nation does this,” Wolfers stated.
In any case, the figures would have been difficult to interpret, since large revisions to earlier months meant the actual new numbers couldn’t be cleanly isolated to show what occurred in December alone, Nick Timaraos, The Wall Street Journal’s chief economics correspondent, .
Friday’s jobs report revealed nonfarm payrolls rose by 50,000 in December, with almost all gains coming from the healthcare and social assistance sectors. Stocks inched up after the release, alleviating concerns about a more severe employment slowdown.
Before Kumar’s post, the leak had received limited attention—probably because it was disclosed on Truth Social, a platform with a tiny user base. Per Pew Research , only 3% of U.S. adults report ever using Truth Social, versus 84% who use , 71% who use Facebook, 50% who use , and 21% who use .
Instead of condemning a scandal, some media outlets joked about that aspect of the incident—with the rephrasing the classic hypothetical about a tree falling in the forest: “If a jobs report leaks on a social media platform no one uses, does it affect the market?” (This reporter was delayed in submitting this story because Truth Social seemed to malfunction, blocking access to both the post and the President’s page.)