US President Donald Trump on 11 Aug 2025 nominated E.J. Antoni, the Heritage Foundation’s chief economist and a longtime critic of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, to become the agency’s next commissioner. The move comes 10 days after Trump dismissed Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, blaming her for a July employment report that showed weaker-than-expected hiring and a combined 258,000 downward revision to May and June payrolls. Antoni has argued for overhauling the BLS’s data methods and, in a Fox Business interview recorded before his nomination, said the bureau should suspend its widely watched monthly jobs report and publish only quarterly figures until methodological issues are resolved. He contends declining survey response rates are producing unreliable estimates that mislead policy makers and investors. Announcing the pick on Truth Social, Trump said Antoni would ensure economic numbers are “honest and accurate.” Asked whether the jobs report would continue, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said “that is the plan,” signalling the administration intends to keep the monthly release. Economists from across the political spectrum warned that even talk of pausing or politicising BLS data could erode confidence in statistics that guide Federal Reserve policy, Social Security cost-of-living adjustments and the $2.1 trillion Treasury inflation-protected securities market. Antoni’s appointment requires Senate confirmation, setting up a likely partisan debate over the stewardship of the agency that produces key indicators on employment, wages and prices. Until the Senate acts, career officials will continue to run the BLS and prepare the next jobs report, scheduled for early September.