Overview

• President Trump nominated E.J. Antoni, chief economist at the Heritage Foundation and Project 2025 contributor, to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• Antoni has labeled the agency’s monthly jobs report “fundamentally flawed” and urged its suspension until it can be replaced by more accurate quarterly data.
• White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt affirmed that monthly reports are expected to continue and said Antoni will “restore America’s trust” in jobs figures.
• Economists, former BLS commissioners and lawmakers from both parties warn that altering legally mandated releases could politicize statistics and unsettle markets.
• Antoni’s nomination is now before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, where his technical credentials, partisan background and legal obstacles will drive confirmation hearings.