Trump taps economist from far-right foundation to head agency that tracks jobs numbers

E.J. Antoni of the Heritage Foundation testifies before a U.S. Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Oct. 24, 2023. (Screenshot from C-SPAN)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump nominated conservative economist E.J. Antoni to fill the top spot at the Bureau of Labor Statistics after abruptly firing the previous statistician following a disappointing jobs report earlier this month.

Trump announced the nominee late Monday on his Truth Social platform, stating that “Our Economy is booming, and E.J. will ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE.”

Antoni, an economist at the far-right Heritage Foundation, has harshly criticized the previous BLS commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, who was nominated by former President Joe Biden in 2023 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate 86-6 in January 2024. The bureau tracks national economic data, including employment figures.

Without providing evidence, Trump slammed the latest jobs report, released Aug. 1, as “RIGGED” and fired McEntarfer hours later.

The economy gained just 73,000 jobs in July, according to the monthly report. BLS also significantly adjusted May and June figures, to 33,000 for both months, down from the previously reported 291,000. Revisions to past reports often happen after the bureau receives updated data from businesses and federal agencies.

U.S. economic data collection is often referred to as the “gold standard,” as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, a Trump appointee, said last month.

Trump faced backlash for firing McEntarfer, including from his own former BLS commissioner.

William Beach, whom Trump tapped in 2017 to lead BLS, told CNN McEntarfer’s firing was “groundless.”

BLS data is “more accurate now than they were 30 years ago,” Beach said during the Aug. 3 interview.

In an Aug. 4 appearance on Steve Bannon’s WarRoom podcast, Antoni said BLS data collection is “outdated.”

“You need somebody who is willing to overhaul the entire thing,” he told Bannon.

Shortly after Trump’s November win, Antoni posted on X that “DOGE needs to take a chainsaw to BLS.”

Kevin Roberts, Heritage Foundation’s president, said Tuesday that Trump made a “stellar choice” in nominating Antoni.

“EJ Antoni is one of the sharpest economic minds in the nation—a fearless truth-teller who grasps that sound economics must serve the interests of American families, not globalist elites,” Roberts said in a statement. “His leadership as chief economist at The Heritage Foundation has been instrumental in advancing our mission to protect American families and rebuild a resilient economy rooted in free enterprise.”

Antoni contributed to the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, a roughly 900-page far-right blueprint to overhaul government institutions published ahead of Trump’s election win.