Trump pulls nomination to lead US Bureau of Labor Statistics

By&nbspAP pinch Euronews

Published on 01/10/2025 - 8:53 GMT+2

US President Donald Trump is withdrawing nan information of E.J. Antoni to lead nan Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), according to a White House official.

The reasons for withdrawing nan information person not been disclosed, and nan charismatic cited by AP simply noted that Antoni was a talented economist and that President Donald Trump planned to denote a caller nominee soon.

The Senate received paperwork formally withdrawing Antoni’s information connected Tuesday.

Antoni’s nomination, announced successful August, was an effort by Trump to summation greater power complete nan national agency responsible for producing cardinal economical data, including nan monthly jobs study and nan user value index, which is utilized to measurement inflation.

As nan main economist astatine The Heritage Foundation, a blimpish deliberation tank, he was a awesome professional of nan BLS. Yet astir economists saw him arsenic overtly partisan and warned that his basal misreads connected recessions, import prices, and different measures made him a consequence to lead nan national agency.

Concerns complete Antoni's suitability

Kyle Pomerleau, a taxation master for nan blimpish American Enterprise Institute, wrote connected X aft Antoni's information successful August: “There are a batch of competent blimpish economists that could do this job. E.J. is not 1 of them.”

Kevin Roberts, president of The Heritage Foundation and Heritage Action, said successful a connection that Antoni “continues to beryllium 1 of nan sharpest economical minds successful nan country” and that he “was nan correct man for nan job” astatine nan BLS. But nan connection said that Antoni would stay astatine nan blimpish deliberation vessel alternatively of taking a occupation successful nan government.

Other specifications emerged astir Antoni that raised concerns astir his credibility arsenic an economical scorekeeper. NBC News reported that Antoni was successful nan crowd extracurricular nan US Capitol during nan 6 January insurrection successful 2021. And observers recovered that nan wall creation down Antoni during interviews connected TV was of nan German battleship Bismarck utilized by nan Nazis successful World War II.

Financial disclosures show that Antoni earned successful excess of $495,000 (€421,000) for his activity astatine The Heritage Foundation, successful summation to different payments for speeches and consulting.

Trump's quest to power economical decisions

Trump fired Erika McEntarfer arsenic BLS commissioner connected 1 August aft nan July jobs study showed a accelerated slowdown successful hiring, pinch occupation gains successful May and June revised overmuch little than initially estimated.

The White House has maintained that it wants meticulous figures aft a bid of downward revisions to nan jobs report, but Trump has said connected his societal media tract that nan numbers were rigged to undermine him politically.

In nan 4 months aft Trump initially announced his country-by-country tariffs, occupation gains person averaged little than 27,000 a month. The slowdown was terrible capable for nan Federal Reserve successful September to trim its benchmark complaint successful hopes of stabilising nan occupation market.

The White House besides connected Tuesday withdrew nan information of Brian Quintenz to subordinate nan Commodity Futures Trading Commission arsenic chairman.

A White House official, insisting connected anonymity to talk nan decision, called Quintenz a trusted state and said that a caller nominee would beryllium forthcoming.

CNN first reported nan withdrawal of Antoni's nomination.