Trump Reportedly Withdraws Nomination Of Conservative Economist For Labor Stats Chief

The White House reportedly pulled economist E.J. Antoni’s nomination to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday, according to multiple reports.

President Donald Trump said in August that he was nominating economist Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics after firing Commissioner Erika McEntarfer over a weak July jobs report. The Trump administration’s nomination of Antoni drew criticism over what Axios called a potential politicization of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. CNN and the Associated Press first reported his withdrawal.

Almost immediately after his nomination, Antoni stirred controversy by suggesting the agency suspend publication of its jobs report until internal issues were resolved. Antoni, the Heritage Foundation’s top economist, has previously questioned the credibility of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), saying its monthly jobs reports often resemble “random outputs” in a post on X.

July’s modest job gains came after the BLS revised down employment figures for May and June by a total of 258,000 positions, according