President Donald Trump Monday said he will nominate E.J. Antoni, chief economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation, to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the independent federal agency that compiles closely watched jobs and inflation reports.
Trump fired the previous BLS commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, 11 days ago after a weak July jobs report that he baselessly alleged she had "rigged" for political reasons.
Who said what
"Our Economy is booming, and E.J. will ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE," Trump said on social media. Antoni, a contributor to "Project 2025," was a critic of the BLS during the 2024 presidential campaign, arguing that the data was out of step with how people felt about the economy. He called for McEntarfer's removal shortly before Trump fired her.
The BLS is widely "seen as the gold standard for information on prices, employment, productivity and more," The New York Times said. And "economists on both the left and right of the political spectrum" say it's "critical" that the commissioner be seen as "politically neutral." Antoni's nomination was "met with reservations from economists," Reuters said. It will "result in a surge in demand for private label data," said Joe Brusuelas, the chief economist at RSM US.
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Antoni must be confirmed by the Senate. A test of how Trump "might handle future releases of economic data" arrives today with the publication of the latest BLS monthly report on consumer prices, the Times said. The report is "expected to show an uptick in inflation partly because of the president's expanding trade war."
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
