by US President Donald Trump has chosen an economist at a conservative think tank to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), after having fired his previous commissioner this month after weaker than expected baneng data.
The president said that he appointed EJ Antoni, a federal budget analyst at the Heritage Foundation, as commissioner of one of America’s most important economic institutions.
“Our economy is booming and EJ will ensure that the figures released are honest and accurate,” he placed on the truth of the truth.
Earlier in August, Trump BLS commissioner Erika Mcentarfer fired and claimed that they “tuppricht” job figures to make him look bad – an accusation rejected by various other economists.
The US Senate, which is controlled by the Fellow Republicans of Trump, must confirm the appointment.
Antoni has previously criticized the BLS, questioned the methodology and his statistics called “Foney Baloney”.
Last November he said in a position on X that the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) “should take a chainsaw to the BLS”.
The office is currently led by acting commissioner William Watrowski, who has been working there for decades.
Mcentarfer was dismissed after BLS figures this month showing that employers in the US added only 73,000 jobs in July, far below the predictions of 109,000 new roles, the alarm about Trump’s tariff policy.
The agency also revised the growth of employment in May and June and reported 250,000 fewer jobs than previously thought. It was the largest downward revision of the work figures – apart from the Covid era – since 1979.
Although the revisions were larger than normal, it is normal for the initial monthly number to be changed as more data comes to light.
The unprecedented movement led to accusations that Trump polished economic data.
Mceltarfer worked for the government for more than 20 years before he was nominated by Biden to lead the BLS in 2023.
