BLS pick adds to fears of unreliable data

Economists have criticised E.J. Antoni for misunderstanding the data at the US Bureau of Labor Statistics that President Trump has nominated him to oversee, write Ben Casselman, Alan Rappeport and Lydia DePillis from New York

- 

On Aug 1, shortly after the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a surprisingly weak employment report, the conservative economist E.J. Antoni joined Steve Bannon’s influential “War Room” podcast.

“Have we put in our own person into BLS?” Bannon asked Mr Antoni. “Is a Maga Republican, that President Trump knows and trusts, are they running the Bureau of Labor Statistics yet?”

“No, unfortunately, Steve, we still haven't gotten there,” Mr Antoni replied, going on to say that Erika McEntarfer, the head of the agency, was “incompetent.”

Hours later, Trump fired Ms McEntarfer, accusing her, without evidence, of rigging the jobs numbers against him. And on Monday, the president said he would nominate Mr Antoni to replace her.

“Our Economy is booming, and E.J. will ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE,” Trump said on Truth Social.

Economists across the political spectrum reacted with alarm to Mr Antoni’s appointment — which must still be confirmed by the Senate — saying they worried he would politicise an agency long admired for providing straight-ahead facts on employment, inflation, wages and other critical economic subjects.

“I’ve been on several programmes with him at this point and have been impressed by two things: his inability to understand basic economics and the speed with which he’s gone Maga,” Dave Hebert, an economist at the conservative American Institute for Economic Research, wrote in a post on X. “I can only hope the Senate blocks this.”

By résumé alone, Mr Antoni, 37, is an unusual pick to head the agency, which is officially a part of the Department of Labor but has long operated with a large measure of independence. Past commissioners have typically come to the job with decades of experience in government or academia.