US President Donald Trump has picked a conservative assume tank economist to steer the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), after firing its earlier head following weaker-than-expected jobs information.
The president stated he was nominating EJ Antoni, a federal finances analyst on the Heritage Basis, to be commissioner of the important thing financial establishment.
“Our Economic system is booming, and E.J. will be sure that the Numbers launched are HONEST and ACCURATE,” he posted on Fact Social.
Earlier in August Trump fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, claiming she had “rigged” jobs figures to make him look dangerous, an accusation that drew sharp criticism from economists throughout the political spectrum.
The US Senate, which is managed by Trump’s fellow Republicans, wants to substantiate the appointment.
Antoni has beforehand criticised the BLS, questioning its methodology and calling its statistics “phoney baloney”.
Final November, he stated in a submit on X that the Division of Authorities Effectivity (Doge) “must take a chainsaw to the BLS”.
The bureau is at present led by Performing Commissioner Commissioner William Watrowski, who has labored there for many years.
McEntarfer was fired after BLS figures missed expectations in July, stoking alarm about Trump’s tariff coverage.
The company additionally lowered employment information for the earlier two months within the largest such downward revision – other than the Covid-era – since 1979.
Though the revisions had been larger than ordinary, it’s regular for the preliminary month-to-month quantity to be modified as extra information involves mild.
The unprecedented transfer sparked accusations that Trump was politicising financial information.
McEntarfer labored for the federal government for greater than 20 years earlier than being nominated by Biden to steer the BLS in 2023.
