US President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS), EJ Antoni, has faced criticism from economists who question his qualifications and impartiality. Antoni, the chief economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation, was nominated after the BLS released a jobs report showing weakened hiring in July and lower numbers in May and June than previously reported. Trump fired the then-BLS chair, Erika McEntarfer, claiming the data was “rigged” for political reasons, despite a lack of evidence.
Many former Labor Department officials worry that Antoni’s nomination could bring a new level of politicization to the agency, which has been widely regarded as nonpartisan and reliable. “Trump has nominated a sycophant to tell him exactly what he wants to hear,” said Alex Jaquez, a member of the White House National Economic Council under former President Joe Biden. “Make no mistake: This selection is a clear assault on independent analysis that will have far-reaching implications for the reliability of US economic data.”
Antoni’s nomination has sparked concerns due to his partisan commentary and history of manipulating data to favor Trump. “There’s just nothing in his writing or his resume to suggest that he’s qualified for the position, besides that he is always manipulating the data to favour Trump in some way,” said Brian Albrecht, chief economist at the International Center for Law and Economics.
Antoni has made several questionable claims, including stating that the US economy was in recession since 2022 during the last year of Biden’s presidency. He also called for the entire Federal Reserve board to be fired for not earning a profit on its Treasury securities holdings and posted a chart on social media that conflated timelines to suggest inflation was headed to 15 percent.
While some economists share Antoni’s concerns about the government’s jobs data, many believe that he would not be able to alter the figures if confirmed. However, he could push for changes in the monthly press release and seek to portray the numbers in a more positive light. “The commissioner does not affect the numbers,” said William Beach, who was appointed BLS commissioner by Trump in his first term and also served under Biden. “They don’t collect the data. They don’t massage the data. They don’t organise it.”
Antoni’s nomination is likely to face stiff opposition from Democrats, who have already slammed him as “an unqualified right-wing extremist.” Senator Patty Murray demanded that the GOP chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hold a confirmation hearing for Antoni.