Trump picks E.J. Antoni as new Bureau of Labor Statistics head after firing outdated commissioner amid weak jobs report
Washington — President Trump introduced E.J. Antoni as his nominee to steer the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Monday, after he fired the previous commissioner earlier this month, blaming her for a weaker-than-expected jobs report.
Antoni is a fellow on the conservative Heritage Basis assume tank, and he holds a doctorate in economics from Northern Illinois College. He has criticized the BLS previously for low response charges and questioned the company’s methodology, calling its medical health insurance figures “phoney baloney” final yr and at one level joking that “the ‘L’ is silent” in BLS’ title.
“DOGE must take a chainsaw to the BLS…,” he wrote in a November X publish.
“There are higher methods to gather, course of, and disseminate knowledge—that’s the job for the subsequent BLS commissioner, and solely constant supply of correct knowledge in a well timed method will rebuild the belief that has been misplaced during the last a number of years,” he wrote shortly after Mr. Trump fired the previous BLS chief.
Mr. Trump nominated him in a Fact Social publish, saying he “will make sure that the Numbers launched are HONEST and ACCURATE.”
Antoni will must be confirmed by the Senate. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is presently led by appearing Commissioner William Watrowski, who has labored on the company for many years.
Mr. Trump ordered his administration to terminate Erika McEntarfer, the previous commissioner of labor statistics, on Aug. 1, hours after the discharge of the July jobs report knowledge. That report confirmed a pointy slowdown in hiring, together with a steep downward revision to Might and June’s hiring numbers.
Saying her firing in a publish on Fact Social, the president claimed — with out proof — McEntarfer had “faked the Jobs Numbers earlier than the Election to attempt to increase Kamala’s possibilities of Victory” and pledged to exchange her “with somebody rather more competent and certified.”
The roles report for October 2024, which was launched on Nov. 1, 2024, 4 days earlier than Election Day, confirmed simply 12,000 jobs had been created — far wanting the 100,000 forecast for the month — following two hurricanes and a significant labor dispute. The next month, that determine was revised upward, to 36,000. September’s jobs report, nonetheless, dramatically exceeded forecasts — 254,000 jobs had been created, relatively than the 140,000 financial analysts had anticipated. That determine was later revised all the way down to 223,000.
Mr. Trump continued railing in opposition to the ousted commissioner and the BLS extra broadly within the days after he fired her, claiming in a publish on Fact Social final week that the July jobs report had been “RIGGED,” although he offered no proof to assist it. The president mentioned on CNBC’s “Squawk Field” Tuesday that it is a “extremely political state of affairs.” And Nationwide Financial Council Director Kevin Hassett defended the president’s resolution in an look on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” citing a sequence of revisions and patterns that “may make individuals marvel.”
“What we want is a recent set of eyes over on the BLS,” Hassett mentioned, including that “the president desires his personal individuals there in order that after we see the numbers they’re extra clear and extra dependable.”
McEntarfer had been commissioner for slightly over a yr and a half, after she was confirmed in a broad bipartisan vote of 86 to eight by the Senate in January 2024.
The most recent jobs report confirmed employers in July including a weaker-than-expected 73,000 jobs, with a downward revision of 258,000 fewer jobs created in Might and June. Mr. Trump, who typically touts the job numbers, known as the roles figures a “shock” and the revision a “main mistake.” The BLS mentioned in its report that month-to-month revisions “consequence from extra experiences obtained from companies and authorities businesses because the final revealed estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal components.”
U.S. Commerce Consultant Jamieson Greer acknowledged in an interview for “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” earlier this month that “there are at all times revisions,” however he added that “typically you see these revisions go in actually excessive methods.”
“The president is the president. He can select who works within the govt department,” Greer mentioned.
In the meantime, some economists and lawmakers have expressed concern over the firing, and a gaggle of former BLS leaders warned that the transfer “undermines the dear work and dedication of BLS employees” and “escalates the President’s unprecedented assaults on the independence and integrity of the federal statistical system.” The group known as on Congress to research the firing.
Aimee Picchi
contributed to this report.
