President Donald Trump has nominated economist E.J. Antoni as his pick to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), just weeks after dismissing former commissioner Erika McEntarfer over a weaker-than-expected July jobs report.
Announcing the decision on Truth Social on Monday, Mr. Trump praised Antoni, a fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, as someone who “will ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE.” The nomination is subject to Senate confirmation.
Antoni, who holds a doctorate in economics from Northern Illinois University, has long defended Trump’s economic policies, including his tariff strategy, while openly criticizing BLS methodologies. In the past, he has described the agency’s health insurance data as “phony baloney” and joked that “the ‘L’ is silent” in the BLS name. In a November post on X (formerly Twitter), he wrote: “DOGE needs to take a chainsaw to the BLS…”
Following McEntarfer’s removal, Antoni said the agency needed “better ways to collect, process, and disseminate data,” stressing that only consistent delivery of accurate, timely statistics could restore public trust.
The firing of McEntarfer on August 1 came just hours after the release of July’s jobs data, which reported a sharp hiring slowdown and a major downward revision to May and June figures. The report showed only 73,000 jobs were added in July — far below expectations and a revision indicating 258,000 fewer jobs had been created in the previous two months.
Trump, who frequently touts strong job growth as a hallmark of his administration, described the numbers as a “shock” and labeled the revision a “major mistake.” On Truth Social, he accused McEntarfer — without providing evidence — of “faking the Jobs Numbers before the Election to try and boost Kamala’s chances of Victory.”
In defense of the move, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told NBC’s Meet the Press that a “fresh set of eyes” was needed at the BLS to make the numbers “more transparent and more reliable.”
Antoni’s nomination has the support of influential former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, who hosted him on his show War Room on the day the July jobs report was released. During that appearance, Antoni labeled McEntarfer “incompetent.” Days later, Bannon publicly pushed for Antoni to be appointed, describing him as “the guy that almost single-handedly took [the BLS] down by going through their numbers.”
While Trump’s allies back the nomination, critics have voiced concern that the firing and replacement could undermine the independence of federal statistical agencies. A group of former BLS leaders condemned the decision, warning it “undermines the valuable work and dedication of BLS staff” and escalates “unprecedented attacks on the independence and integrity” of U.S. economic data collection. They have called on Congress to investigate the matter.
Some lawmakers and economists have also questioned whether political motivations could compromise the reliability of future employment reports.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, currently led by acting commissioner William Watrowski, has maintained that monthly revisions result from new data submissions and recalculations of seasonal factors. Meanwhile, Antoni awaits Senate confirmation amid heightened political attention to how jobs data is produced and reported.
If confirmed, Antoni will be tasked with leading one of the nation’s most important economic agencies at a time when public trust in official labor statistics is under scrutiny.
