After firing his predecessor for speaking the truth, Donald Trump picks ‘extreme partisan’ to parrot what the administration says

President Donald Trump has announced plans to choose E.J. Antoni, the chief economist at the Heritage Foundation, as the new leader of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This decision follows Trump’s sudden dismissal of the previous commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, after the release of a jobs report that did not match the administration’s claims about a strong economy.

The events leading to this nomination started when new jobs data showed that job growth in the United States had dropped to its lowest level in 16 years. Rather than accepting the numbers, President Trump fired McEntarfer without giving a reason. He then made multiple claims, without proof, that the data was “rigged,” “ridiculous,” “fake,” and a “scam.”

The previous commissioner had been approved by a strong bipartisan vote in the Senate, and for 140 years, the BLS has been led by impartial experts focused on technical accuracy. Per NBC News, the head of the BLS does not personally put together the jobs report; they are only informed about its contents shortly before it is made public. Many saw the firing of the former commissioner as a political move, punishing her for releasing data the president did not like.

Trump replaces his commissioner with one that will say what he wants

The selection of Antoni as the new nominee has made the controversy even worse. Antoni is involved in the Project 2025 policy plan and has repeatedly criticized BLS data in the past. His nomination was reportedly pushed by Steve Bannon, a key advisor to Trump during his first term. Before being chosen, Antoni appeared on Bannon’s podcast and demanded that McEntarfer be fired, which happened soon after.

Jason Furman, who was the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in the White House under President Barack Obama, said, “I don’t think I have ever publicly criticized any Presidential nominee before. But E.J. Antoni is completely unqualified to be BLS Commissioner. He is an extreme partisan and does not have any relevant expertise. He would be a break from decades of nonpartisan technocrats.”

When announcing the nomination on his social media platform, Trump said, “E.J. will ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE.” This statement suggested that the president has already decided how well the economy is doing and expects the nominee to produce statistics that support the White House’s preexisting view.

Similarly, Justin Wolfers, an economist at the University of Michigan, pointed out Antoni’s professional background, noting that he finished graduate school just five years ago without any special recognition. Wolfers mentioned that Antoni’s research did not focus on labor or data collection, and he has no published work, with only one citation from a former coworker. Wolfers concluded that this record would not even be enough to get Antoni a low-level economist job at the BLS itself.