President Trump's new pick to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is a right-wing policy advocate with ties to the MAGA movement.
An economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation, E.J. Antoni is coming under scrutiny for a perceived lack of expertise, but the White House is vouching for his qualifications.
Trump fired Antoni's predecessor, Erika McEntarfer, for allegedly fudging jobs data that showed the labor market cooling.
“Our Economy is booming, and E.J. will ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE,” Trump said of Antoni in a social media post.
Antoni is a critic of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which has the power to shape monetary policy with its monthly reports on the job market. In particular, Antoni has slammed the agency for releasing unreliable data that overstated job growth during the Biden administration.
“There are better ways to collect, process, and disseminate data – that is the task for the next BLS commissioner, and only consistent delivery of accurate data in a timely manner will rebuild the trust that has been lost over the last several years,” said on X.
Critics of Antoni have challenged his integrity, citing his pro-Trump commentary in various podcasts and articles.
During a recent appearance on Steve Bannon's "War Room," Antoni defended Trump's widely panned July jobs report by highlighting gains among American workers.
“There was some good news in the report, too, that we should definitely highlight,” he said. “All of the net job growth over the last 12 months has gone to native-born Americans.”
Harvard University economist Jason Furman, who worked for the Obama administration, called Antoni, an "extreme partisan" who "would be a break from decades of nonpartisan technocrats."
A skepticism of self-described "experts" has long been an animating force in Trump's populist movement, which emerged after years of ruinous U.S. leadership that hollowed out the middle-class, particularly in the Rust Belt.
Antoni has a Ph.D. in economics from Northern Illinois University and has authored several articles for the Heritage Foundation praising Trump's policies. Despite being labeled a MAGA sycophant, he has expressed doubts about the potential for Trump' tariffs to revitalize manufacturing.
"America must also seriously evaluate what turned the Industrial Belt into the Rust Belt. This hollowing out of the nation’s industrial base was not caused primarily by international trade. Instead, the primary carcinogens were terrible regulatory and tax policies," Antoni wrote in a May article.
Antoni will need Senate confirmation.
