President Donald Trump has nominated economist EJ Antoni, a prominent figure at the conservative Heritage Foundation, to serve as commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The move comes just ten days after Trump abruptly dismissed former commissioner Erika McEntarfer, accusing her of manipulating employment data for political purposes.
Announcing the pick on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “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.”
The nomination sets up a potential Senate confirmation battle and will reignite debate over the independence of the agency that produces some of the most closely watched economic statistics in the world.
Antoni, who holds a doctorate in economics, is currently chief economist at the Heritage Foundation and previously worked at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. He has taught courses in labor economics, money, and banking, and was a contributor to “Project 2025,” a controversial conservative blueprint for restructuring the federal government.
Over the past several years, Antoni has been openly critical of BLS data, especially under the Biden administration. He has described some Consumer Price Index (CPI) readings as “phoney baloney” and, during the Biden administration, claimed the Labor Department existed in “the land of make-believe”.
The BLS, a division of the Labor Department, produces key data such as the monthly nonfarm payrolls report and the CPI. These figures influence everything from Federal Reserve interest rate decisions to Social Security cost-of-living adjustments and are closely monitored by global investors.
McEntarfer’s firing followed a July jobs report that showed weaker-than-expected growth and included historically large downward revisions to previous months’ figures. Trump claimed the report was “rigged” to benefit Democrats, though economists widely reject the notion of political bias in BLS methodology.
Large revisions are common because the payrolls report is released only days after a month ends, leaving limited time for data collection. These numbers are revised twice in the following months as more employer surveys are received, and undergo an annual benchmark revision.
Given the BLS’s role in shaping market expectations, the leadership shake-up has rattled some economists and investors, raising concerns about the potential politicization of the data.
Antoni will also inherit significant logistical challenges, including declining survey response rates and the need to maintain quality in inflation and labor market data despite resource constraints. In some regions, funding shortfalls have forced the BLS to impute—rather than collect—up to 35% of prices in the CPI basket.
If confirmed, Antoni will lead a workforce of roughly 2,000 employees tasked with producing the statistics that underpin much of U.S. economic policymaking.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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