Overview

• Trump nominated E.J. Antoni to be commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after firing career official Erika McEntarfer earlier this month over revised July job gains.
• Antoni’s resume as a Heritage Foundation economist and frequent media commentator contrasts with the academic and career-statistician backgrounds of past BLS leaders.
• He has publicly suggested halting monthly jobs reports in favor of quarterly data releases to reduce revisions, a proposal that many economists fear would slow vital economic indicators.
• Current and former BLS officials point to pandemic-driven drops in survey response rates and substantial routine revisions as challenges that require expertise and independent oversight.
• The Senate HELP Committee will hold confirmation hearings to decide if Antoni’s partisan profile and reform plan should reshape the nation’s labor market measurements.