Trump Withdraws EJ Antoni's Nomination to Lead Statistics Agency

The Financial Times reported on September 30, 2025, that President Donald Trump has pulled the nomination of EJ Antoni, an ally from the Heritage Foundation, to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Antoni's nomination in August followed the president's firing of the previous commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, after a July jobs report showed weaker-than-expected hiring. Mr. Trump had accused McEntarfer of manipulating jobs data to undermine him politically, a claim he made without providing evidence.

cbsnews.com reported, Antoni, a vocal critic of the agency, was seen by many economists as an overtly partisan choice who could risk the integrity of federal data. According to CNN, the withdrawal came after reports that Antoni was struggling to gain support from moderate Republican senators. A White House official did not give a reason for the decision but called Antoni a "brilliant economist" and stated that President Trump would announce a new nominee soon. The leadership of the crucial data-gathering agency now remains vacant.