Maddow Blog-With new labor statistics nominee, Trump heads in a radical and hazardous direction

[LetMyPeopleVote]

The president said E.J. Antoni, his nominee to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is a “highly respected economist.” That’s not even close to being true.

Trump said the Heritage Foundation’s E.J. Antoni, his nominee to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is a “highly respected economist.”

That's not even close to being true — and the resulting dynamic creates genuinely hazardous conditions. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-08-12T13:01:27.854Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/new-labor-statistics-nominee-trump-heads-radical-hazardous-direction-rcna224485

But that’s not all he did. The president also vowed to nominate an even better BLS chief, and on Monday afternoon, the public learned of his choice: E.J. Antoni, chief economist at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative group that used to have a reputation as a prominent think tank. NBC News reported:

Steve Bannon, a senior adviser to Trump in his first term, had been pushing hard for Antoni’s nomination. Antoni, a contributor to the Project 2025 policy rubric, has been a longtime skeptic of BLS data. On Bannon’s podcast last week, Antoni called for McEntarfer to be fired shortly before Trump pulled the trigger. As chief economist at the Heritage Foundation, Antoni has written a number of pieces for the think tank that are highly complimentary of the Trump administration.

.....Jason Furman, for example, is an accomplished Harvard economist who chaired the White House Council of Economic Advisers during the Obama administration, and he responded to Antoni’s nomination this way: “I don’t think I have ever publicly criticized any Presidential nominee before. But E.J. Antoni is completely unqualified to be BLS Commissioner. He is an extreme partisan and does not have any relevant expertise.”

Justin Wolfers, an economist at the University of Michigan, added, “Let’s focus on qualifications: Antoni finished grad school 5 years ago at Northern Illinois with no distinction. Dissertation: No focus on labor or data collection. Zero publications. One lifetime citation (by a former colleague). This record would not earn you a job as junior economist at BLS.....

Going forward, everyone — from policymakers to economists, Federal Reserve officials to investors, business owners to regular ol’ American workers — will now have reason to question the integrity of the data from the U.S. government.

[hildegaard28]

1. Doesn't this

Furman guy know anything. Qualifications don’t matter in the Trump Whitehouse. It’s who is most loyal to Donald Trump’s America destroying agenda that makes one eligible for the job. Who needs expertise when your main goal is wholesale destruction of the country for a foreign power?

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. 'Absolute worst': Outrage as Trump taps economist known for 'viral dishonest analyses'

This asshole is not qualified and is very dishonest. trump will get the numbers he wants but no one will trust these numbers

Critics bemoaned President Donald Trump's decision to nominate a top Heritage Foundation economist as head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

— Raw Story (@rawstory.com) 2025-08-12T00:00:20Z

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-economy-2673876408

Critics bemoaned President Donald Trump's decision to nominate a top Heritage Foundation economist as head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics......

Jeremy Horpedahl, an associate professor at the University of Central Arkansas, warned on X ahead of the announcement, "This is a terrible idea. Antoni either massively misunderstands labor market data, or he is willing to lie repeatedly about after being corrected by dozens of economistsQuoteBrian Schwartz."

Spencer Hakimian, founder of Tolou Capital Management, wrote on X, "Lmao get ready for a +27 million job month in 2 weeks."

Matthew Gertz, senior fellow at Media Matters, wrote on X: "The morning Trump fired the BLS commissioner, Antoni was on Steve Bannon’s show explaining that the lack of a 'MAGA Republican' in the post was 'why we continue to have all these data problems.'"

Brendan Duke, senior director of Federal Budget Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, wrote on X that "Antoni has distinguished himself with his lack of shame in producing viral dishonest analyses that have been criticized by honest conservative analysts. If he brings that lack of shame to the production official economic statistics, their reliability could be in question.".....

And Bloomberg columnist Matthew Yglesias wrote on X, "Antoni’s commentary on economic data over the past few years has been some of the absolute worst around. For the sake of the country I hope this guy is a huge liar and his various statements don’t reflect sincere incompetence."

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. Leavitt confirms that monthly jobs reports may be suspended "until they can get the data and methodology in order"

Leavitt confirms that monthly jobs reports may be suspended "until they can get the data and methodology in order"

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-08-12T19:33:27.689Z

[LetMyPeopleVote]

4. Resurfaced podcast reveals that Trump's Bureau of Labor Statistics nominee is a Project 2025 author.

Resurfaced podcast reveals that Trump's Bureau of Labor Statistics nominee is a Project 2025 author.

— FactPost (@factpostnews.bsky.social) 2025-08-12T13:50:35.589Z