Heritage Foundation economist to oversee U.S. labor stats

President Donald Trump tapped economist E.J. Antoni Monday evening to serve as commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Antoni will ensure that the numbers released about the economy are accurate, the president wrote. He added that the economy was booming. The appointment came less than two weeks after Trump fired former bureau head Erika McEntarfer after a lackluster July jobs report. Trump claimed that the Biden appointee altered data to hide the Trump administration's success.

What do we know about Antoni? He serves as the chief economist and research fellow at The Heritage Foundation’s Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget. Antoni received a doctorate degree in economics from Northern Illinois University in 2020, before serving at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and on the Committee to Unleash Prosperity. Heritage, an influential conservative think tank, publicly congratulated Antoni on his appointment.

What is his take on the government’s economic data? Antoni has regularly criticized the Labor Statistics Bureau leadership and methods. There are better ways to collect, process, and disseminate data, and the next labor statistics commissioner should enact them, Antoni wrote days after McEntarfer's removal. Public trust lost in recent years can be rebuilt by regularly delivering accurate data in a timely manner, he added.

What are critics saying about the appointment? Harvard economics professor and Peterson Institute Fellow Jason Furman described Antoni as completely unqualified for the role. Antoni is extremely partisan and has no relevant expertise, he said Monday. Labor and inflation stats will be worthless if Antoni wants to keep his job, quipped former RNC Chairman Michael Steele. Antoni must still receive Senate approval before his appointment is finalized.

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta’s report on partisan roadblocks stopping many Trump nominees from being formally approved in the Senate.