Economist E.J. Antoni appears with President Donald Trump in the White House. On Monday, Trump nominated him as commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Photo by Donald Trump/Truth Social
Aug. 11 (UPI) — President Donald Trump on Monday nominated economist E.J. Antoni as commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a non-partisan agency he has criticized.
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, the chief economist with the conservative Heritage Foundation would replace Erika McEntarfer, who was fired by Trump on Aug. 1, alleging that she had manipulated the jobs reports for three months.
“I am pleased to announce that I am nominating Highly Respected Economist, Dr. E.J. Antoni, as the next Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Our Economy is booming, and E.J. will ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE. I know E.J. Antoni will do an incredible job in this new role. Congratulations E.J.!”
Before the Heritage Foundation, he worked for the Texas Public Policy Commission. He holds master’s and doctorate degrees in economics from Northern Illinois University.
Last week, Antoni posted on X: “There are better ways to collect, process, and disseminate data — that is the task for the next BLS commissioner, and only consistent delivery of accurate data in a timely manner will rebuild the trust that has been lost over the last several years.”
On Nov. 13, one week after Trump was elected again, he wrote on X: “DOGE needs to take a chainsaw to the BLS.”
Antoni had called for the firing of McEntarfer on Steve Bannon‘s podcast after the July jobs report was released. Later that day, she lost her job.
“Last weeks Job’s Report was RIGGED,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, three days after the report came out. “Those big adjustments were made to cover up, and level out, the FAKE political numbers that were CONCOCTED in order to make a great Republican Success look less stellar!!!”
Bannon, who was Trump’s chief strategist for a portion of his first term, had advocated for hiring Antoni, who interviewed for the post, The Wall Street Journal on Sunday reported.
Senate Republicans hold a 53-47 advantage and confirmation only requires 50 votes. In January 2024, McEntarfer was confirmed 86-8.
“I don’t think there’s any grounds at all for this, for this firing, and it really hurts the statistical system,” William Beach, who was nominated by Trump during his first term, said on CNN earlier this month. “Suppose that they get a new commissioner … And they do a bad number. Well, everybody’s going to think, ‘well, it’s not as bad as it probably really is,’ because they’re going to suspect political influence. So, this is damaging.”
The BLS distributes data that is used by agencies, including the Federal Reserve, and companies. Besides monthly jobs reports, BLS also provides data on occupations, including wages and job outlook. Consumer spending is also analyzed.
The report showed 73,000 new jobs in July and unemployment rose to 4.2% from 4.1%, which was predicted and still historically low.
But the previous two months were adjusted downward. May was revised from 144,000 jobs added to 19,000 jobs added, and June’s revision went from 147,000 jobs added to 14,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Situation Summary.
The BLS said that monthly revisions “result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors.”