The Trump administration nominated EJ Antoni to be the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Posted by Platypus Economics with Justin Wolfers, Checked
- Sources
- 5 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 96%
Platypus Economics with Justin WolfersAug 28, 2026
The sources consistently show that President Trump nominated E.J. Antoni, a Heritage Foundation economist, as Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner on August 11, 2025, after firing Erika McEntarfer. The nomination was later withdrawn on September 30/October 1, 2025, which does not make the claim false as of the nomination.
What was said
… That is a profound shift in how democracies operate. Okay, so that's the first difference. Actually, this one happened the Census Bureau happened in the shadows, right? What happened over in the BLS is hit the front page of every paper. Then the President doubled down and nominated an absolute clown, a partisan hack by the name of EJ Antoni, whose only claim to fame is he knows nothing about bureau's labor or statistics. So they put him in charge of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Well, they tried, but that position is a Senate confirmed position. …
Platypus Economics with Justin Wolfers · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. CNBC reports that Trump said on Monday, August 11, 2025, that he would nominate economist E.J. Antoni as BLS commissioner, citing his Truth Social post.[6]
Supports. The AP reports that Trump selected Antoni, chief economist at the Heritage Foundation, to be the next BLS commissioner, subject to Senate confirmation.[1]
Supports. NBC and BBC report that the White House withdrew Antoni's nomination on October 1, 2025, after he had been nominated in August, which confirms the nomination occurred but was later reversed.[3][4][5]
Context. The post's claim matches the extraction: the passage says the President 'nominated' Antoni to lead the BLS, and the claim adds no new figure, actor or scope. The post's statement that the Senate had to confirm the role and that Antoni was withdrawn is consistent with the sources.[2][5]
Sources
6 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 2 tier 2, 1 tier 1, 1 not rated
- 1Trump's nominee to oversee jobs and inflation data faces shower of ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2Veteran economist, insider Matsumoto wins Senate approval as BLS commissionerreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3White House withdraws E.J. Antoni's nomination to run the Bureau of ...nbcnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 4Trump pulls pick to lead US jobs data agency - BBCbbc.com · tier 1 · cited for: supports
- 5White House withdraws E.J. Antoni's nomination to lead BLS - Politicopolitico.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports, context
- 6Trump nominates E.J. Antoni as Bureau of Labor Statistics ...cnbc.com · not rated · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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