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BLS nomination approved
Trump names Heritage Foundation economist E J Antoni as BLS commissioner amid debate over July jobs data and data independence
The president moves to nominate E J Antoni, a Heritage Foundation economist, to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics after firing the previous commissioner amid debate over the July jobs data.
Trump nominates EJ Antoni as BLS commissioner
President Trump on Monday announced the plan to nominate E J Antoni, the chief economist at the Heritage Foundation, as the new commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Trump said on Truth Social that Antoni will ensure the Numbers released are honest and accurate. The announcement follows the firing of Erika McEntarfer hours after the July jobs report showed weaker data.
Antoni has long been a critic of the BLS data and has been pushed by Steve Bannon in the lead up to this nomination. He has written pieces sympathetic to the Trump administration and has described the June jobs report as a home run before revisions. Economists note that the BLS chief does not compile the jobs data directly and is mostly briefed on the figures before release. In July, the BLS reported 73,000 new jobs and revised May and June numbers lower, underscoring the data’s unreliability in the public eye if politics enters the picture.
Key Takeaways
"E J Antoni is completely unqualified to be BLS commissioner. He is an extreme partisan and does not have any relevant experience."
Jason Furman criticizing the nomination
"whip smart, passionate, and committed to excellence, three qualities that will turn the BLS from an agency that’s apparently still playing catch up with accurate data to one which is transparent, reliable, and correct"
Rachel Bovard praising Antoni
"The accuracy of the data that BLS produces is built on a foundation of trust"
JPMorgan economist comment on data credibility
"E J Antoni will ensure that the numbers released are honest and accurate"
Trump on Truth Social announcing the nomination
The choice tests the stubborn belief in independent statistics. A BLS head has traditionally been a technocrat, not a policy hatchet. Antoni’s appointment would blur lines between data and policy in a field where trust is essential for markets and policymakers. If the appointment is perceived as politicized, it could feed skepticism about the integrity of official statistics and affect how data is received by investors and the public.
At stake is more than one person in a seat of authority. It is the credibility of a data system that guides decisions from Wall Street to Main Street. The debate echoes long-running tensions over how much politics should touch measurement. A careful, transparent process and clear safeguards will matter as much as the person chosen.
Highlights
- Numbers deserve a referee not a prop
- Trust in data is the backbone of markets
- Data should guide policy not politics
- Independence on data is the currency of credibility
Political interference feared in BLS appointment
The nomination raises concerns about the independence of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Critics worry that leadership aligned with a political faction could influence how data is presented or interpreted, even if the data collection remains technically separate. This could affect markets and public trust if not managed with strict safeguards.
The trust in numbers remains the yardstick by which policy and markets measure themselves.
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