Washington — President Trump announced on Monday that he wants E.J. Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). He fired the previous commissioner earlier this month after a jobs report came out weaker than expected.
Antoni works at a conservative think tank called the Heritage Foundation and has a doctorate in economics from Northern Illinois University. He has supported Trump’s economic policies before, including tariffs. Antoni has also criticized the BLS for how it collects data and even called some of their health insurance numbers “phoney baloney.” He once joked that the “L” in BLS is silent.
After Trump fired the old BLS chief, Antoni said the agency needs to improve how it collects and shares data so people can trust the numbers again.
Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social that Antoni will make sure the numbers released are “HONEST and ACCURATE.” Antoni still has to be approved by the Senate. For now, William Watrowski is the acting leader of the BLS.
Trump fired the previous commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, on August 1, just hours after the July jobs report showed fewer jobs were created than expected and past job numbers were revised downward.
Before she was fired, Antoni criticized the BLS for “data problems” but also pointed out some positive parts of the July report, like more jobs for native-born Americans and fewer government jobs added.
After the firing, Steve Bannon, a former Trump adviser, supported Antoni to lead the BLS. Antoni called McEntarfer “incompetent” on Bannon’s show and Bannon said Antoni helped expose problems in the BLS numbers.
Trump claimed on Truth Social, without proof, that McEntarfer had “faked” job numbers before the election to help Kamala Harris. He said he would replace her with someone “much more competent and qualified.”
Some experts strongly disagree with Antoni’s nomination. Harvard economics professor Jason Furman said Antoni is “completely unqualified” and too political for the job, which has usually been led by nonpartisan experts.
Jessica Riedl, an economist at a conservative think tank, said she had never met Antoni and found many mistakes in his articles and tweets.
The October 2024 jobs report, released just before Election Day, showed only 12,000 new jobs—far below the expected 100,000—due to hurricanes and a labor dispute. The number was later revised up to 36,000. September’s jobs report showed more jobs created than expected but was later revised down.
After firing McEntarfer, Trump said the July jobs report was “RIGGED” but did not provide evidence. His team says revisions in job numbers happen often, but they want new leadership to make the data more reliable and clear.
McEntarfer had been the commissioner for about a year and a half after being confirmed by the Senate with strong bipartisan support.
The latest July jobs report showed only 73,000 jobs added, less than expected, and past months were revised down by 258,000 jobs. Trump called this a “shock” and a “major mistake.” The BLS explained that revisions happen as they get more data from businesses and government agencies.
Some lawmakers and economists worry about firing McEntarfer. Former BLS leaders said it hurts the work of BLS staff and damages trust in federal statistics. They want Congress to investigate.
