Trump appoints conservative economist to head the statistics agency
The White House has announced the nomination of E.J. Antoni, a PhD economist and chief economist at the Heritage Foundation, to head the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This comes 10 days after President Donald Trump fired the previous commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, following a series of disappointing jobs reports [1].
Antoni, who has been associated with right-leaning organizations such as the Heritage Foundation and the Texas Public Policy Foundation, has been vocal about his critical views of the BLS and its methodologies [2]. His appointment is controversial, as there are concerns about potential political interference in the agency's independence and the future credibility of its economic research [3].
Antoni's background as a conservative economist and his involvement in conservative policy initiatives, such as Project 2025, suggest he will bring a skeptical and reform-oriented approach to the BLS. Some worry his leadership could politicize the agency and erode public trust, particularly given the recent staff losses at BLS and the need to modernize its statistical products [2][3].
However, supporters argue that Antoni could improve transparency and accuracy in economic reporting, addressing allegations of flawed data. The agency is at a critical juncture where the next commissioner must maintain the integrity and independence of BLS while addressing internal challenges [2][3].
The BLS is traditionally led by apolitical technocrats who serve terms that span presidential administrations. The reliability of the data produced by the BLS under Antoni's leadership could potentially be influenced by his political leanings [4]. The choice of a partisan economist to oversee the BLS is likely to raise questions about the reliability of market-moving government data [4].
President Trump stated in a social media post that under Antoni's leadership, the numbers released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics will be honest and accurate [1]. If confirmed by the Senate, Antoni would take control of the BLS, responsible for producing the monthly jobs report and tracking inflation.
References: 1. The Washington Post 2. The New York Times 3. The Wall Street Journal 4. CNN
