Trump doubles down, insists jobs data was rigged against him

What they're saying: "The numbers were rigged. The numbers were rigged. Biden wasn't doing well, he was doing poorly," Trump told CNBC in an interview Tuesday morning.

• "I think when somebody says the commissioner is not involved, I don't want to get into any arguments with anybody, why should I? She's a very nice woman, but when they say that nobody was involved, that it wasn't political, give me a break."

Catch up quick: Last Friday, after a weak jobs report and historic downward revisions to prior reports, Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, claiming — without evidence — that she'd distorted the numbers for political purposes.

• Top aides quickly set out on a campaign to justify the firing, alleging BLS data was "very unreliable" and had been for years.

• The move nonetheless gathered swift bipartisan condemnation from economists and lawmakers, including normally staunch Trump allies.

The intrigue: Hours after the BLS move, Federal Reserve governor Adriana Kugler resigned her seat five months early, creating a vacancy that Trump could fill with a future Fed chair-in-waiting.

• He said over the weekend he'd fill the Fed and BLS jobs this week.

Editor's note: This is a developing story. Check back for updates.