Heritage Foundation economist E.J. Antoni , Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), agreed that the person in charge of the agency that compiled jobs and inflation data should be a MAGA loyalist.
Earlier this month, Trump fired BLS commissioner Erika McEntarfer after a brutal jobs report that showed the economy gained only 73,000 jobs in July and did far worse than previously reported in May and June.
Trump falsely accused McEntarfer of rigging the data “in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.”
In an appearance on Steve Bannon’s podcast, Antoni called McEntarfer “incompetent” for failing to fix data collection and interpretation problems at the BLS that have led to revisions in recent years.
He agreed with Bannon that the solution to the problem is for Trump to appoint a MAGA Republican who “Trump knows and trusts” for the role.
“What in the hell is going on there? And have we put in our own person into BLS? Is a MAGA Republican that President Trump knows and trusts, are they running the Bureau of Labor Statistics yet, sir?” Bannon asked.
“No, unfortunately, Steve, we still haven’t gotten there,” Antoni said of a Trump loyalist running the independent agency. “And I think that’s part of the reason why we continue to have all of these different data problems.”
Trump announced Monday that Antoni is the loyalist he nominates to lead the agency.
“I am pleased to announce that I am nominating Highly Respected Economist, Dr. E.J. Antoni, as the next Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. E.J. will ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST AND ACCURATE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
There are concerns that Trump is trying to politicize the agency, which publishes crucial data on employment and inflation. Antoni’s nomination is unlikely to assuage those concerns.
Antoni will require Senate confirmation for the role.
