President Trump Replaces Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Amid Criticism of Jobs Data Accuracy

On Monday, President Donald Trump nominated economist E.J. Antoni to be the new commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), following his dismissal of then-commissioner Erika McEntarfer earlier this month. The BLS is an independent agency within the Department of Labor that collects and publishes data on jobs and inflation. Trump announced the nomination in a Truth Social post, calling Antoni a “Highly Respected Economist.”

Antoni has worked at conservative think tanks, including the Texas Public Policy Foundation and the Heritage Foundation, and has been an outspoken critic of the BLS’s data collection methods. On August 1, appearing on Steve Bannon’s podcast, Antoni criticized McEntarfer over the July monthly jobs report, which showed lower-than-expected job numbers and sharp downward revisions for May and June. He called her “incompetent” and appeared to agree with Bannon that a “MAGA Republican” should lead the agency.

McEntarfer had been appointed by former President Joe Biden in 2023 and confirmed with bipartisan Senate support. Trump accused her, without providing evidence, of manipulating data for political purposes. Her firing drew criticism from economists, including William Beach, a former Trump-appointed BLS commissioner, who said: “I don’t think there’s any grounds at all for this firing, and it really hurts the statistical system.” Beach warned that the removal could undermine trust in BLS data, as future reports might be viewed as politically influenced.

Antoni’s appointment as commissioner requires Senate confirmation. In a recent statement on X, Antoni said, “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.”

BLS reports are influential in determining Social Security payments, corporate hiring and layoff plans, and overall economic policy decisions. The nomination marks another example of Trump placing loyalists in leadership roles at traditionally nonpartisan or independent agencies.

On Monday, President Donald Trump nominated Dr. E.J. Antoni as the new Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), following the dismissal of former commissioner Erika McEntarfer. The BLS is a nonpartisan agency responsible for collecting and publishing national labor and inflation data used to inform government and business decisions.

Trump announced the nomination on Truth Social, stating he was pleased to appoint "Highly Respected Economist, Dr E J Antoni" to the role. Antoni has served as an economist at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and currently at the Heritage Foundation, both conservative think tanks. He has previously been an outspoken critic of the BLS, including its methods of data collection.

On August 1, during an appearance on Steve Bannon's podcast, Antoni criticized McEntarfer over the latest BLS monthly jobs report, which reflected disappointing job growth in July and a sharp downward revision in May and June employment figures. Antoni called McEntarfer incompetent and supported the idea of appointing a "MAGA Republican" to lead the agency.

McEntarfer, appointed in 2023 by former President Joe Biden and confirmed with bipartisan Senate support, was accused by Trump—without providing evidence—of manipulating job data for political purposes. Her dismissal drew criticism from many economists. William Beach, a former Trump-nominated BLS commissioner, condemned the firing, stating, "I don’t think there’s any grounds at all for this... it really hurts the statistical system." He warned that future data releases could face public skepticism about political influence.

Antoni’s appointment requires Senate confirmation. The BLS’s independent reports influence a broad range of decisions, from Social Security adjustments to corporate hiring and layoff strategies, and are central to assessing the health of the U.S. economy.

President Donald Trump has nominated E.J. Antoni, chief economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation, to serve as the new commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) following the firing of Erika McEntarfer on August 1. The termination came shortly after the release of a weaker-than-expected July jobs report showing 73,000 jobs added and significant downward revisions for May and June. Trump alleged without evidence that the data had been 'rigged' to damage him politically. McEntarfer, appointed by President Biden in 2023, was accused by Trump of manipulating the figures, despite the BLS commissioner having no role in directly compiling the numbers.

Antoni, a critic of McEntarfer and the BLS, has made public statements calling for a 'MAGA Republican' in the commissioner role and praised Trump’s past economic policies. His nomination has drawn criticism from economists who warn that politicizing the position could undermine confidence in the agency’s impartiality. Former Trump appointee William Beach cautioned that replacing McEntarfer in this manner could lead to doubts over future economic data. Trump announced the nomination on Truth Social, stating Antoni would ensure that 'the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE.' The appointment requires Senate confirmation.

bls Opinion | All E.J. Antoni’s Labor Statistics Trump to nominate E.J. Antoni as Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner Trump taps Heritage economist to lead BLS

On Friday, President Donald Trump ordered the firing of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Commissioner Erika McEntarfer following a weak jobs report. The move was announced via a post on Trump's Truth Social account, where he asserted that the jobs numbers were rigged, referencing recent large revisions to prior jobs reports: "This is the same Bureau of Labor Statistics that overstated the Jobs Growth in March 2024 by approximately 818,000 and, then again, right before the 2024 Presidential Election, in August and September, by 112,000. These were Records. No one can be that wrong. We need accurate Jobs Numbers."

Trump's accusations, made without evidence, that BLS leadership manipulated employment statistics were widely criticized. Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers called the claims "a preposterous charge," stating in an interview, "These numbers are put together by teams of literally hundreds of people following detailed procedures that are in manuals. There's no conceivable way that the head of the BLS could have manipulated this number." Summers emphasized that the BLS numbers were consistent with private sector sources and warned that firing statisticians was indicative of undermining democratic institutions.

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett defended the decision in a "Meet the Press" interview, highlighting the large recent revisions to jobs reports as cause for concern: "The bottom line is that there were people involved in creating these numbers. And if I were running the BLS and I had a number that was a huge, politically important revision—the biggest since 1968 actually—then I would have a really long report explaining exactly what happened. And we didn't get that."

The firing drew bipartisan attention, with Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) expressing skepticism, stating, "You can't really make the numbers different or better by firing the people doing the counting." Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) accused the president of trying to "weaponize" the BLS for political purposes, raising concerns about the impartiality of future officials. Immediate consequences include heightened scrutiny over the integrity and transparency of federal economic statistics, and the requirement for Congressional confirmation of McEntarfer's replacement.

On Friday, President Donald Trump fired Erika McEntarfer, Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), following the agency's release of weak job growth figures for July and significant downward revisions to the May and June employment numbers. The revisions suggested that the labor market had been nearly stagnant in recent months, leading to debate over the credibility of the data.

Trump announced the firing via a post on Truth Social, claiming that the jobs numbers had been rigged. National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett supported the president's actions, describing the jobs data as "very unreliable" and citing past patterns of large revisions that raised suspicions about their accuracy. In interviews on "Fox News Sunday" and NBC's "Meet the Press" on August 4, 2024, Hassett stated, "The bottom line is that there were people involved in creating these numbers... If I were running the BLS and I had a number that was a huge, politically important revision, the biggest since 1968 actually... then I would have a really long report explaining exactly what happened. And we didn’t get that."

Stephen Miran, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, commented that the BLS needs "fresh eyes" but did not repeat Trump’s accusation that the jobs data were manipulated. The move to fire the BLS commissioner drew swift condemnation from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, as well as economists. Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) remarked, "When the people providing the statistics are fired, it makes it much harder to make judgments that... the statistics won’t be politicized."

On ABC's "This Week," August 4, 2024, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers called Trump's allegation of manipulated jobs figures "a preposterous charge," explaining, "These numbers are put together by teams of literally hundreds of people following detailed procedures that are in manuals... There’s no conceivable way that the head of the BLS could have manipulated this number."

Hassett and other administration officials indicated that the president intends to appoint "his own people" to the BLS to produce what they describe as more transparent and trustworthy employment data. The next jobs report is scheduled for release in 33 days. The firing of McEntarfer is considered unprecedented in the recent history of the agency.