The White House has withdrawn E.J. Antoni’s nomination to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics after the Senate received the formal paperwork late Tuesday.
Announced in August, Antoni’s nomination was seen as President Trump’s bid to exert more influence over the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which produces critical reports on jobs and inflation. Antoni, chief economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation and a vocal critic of the agency, was widely viewed by economists as overly partisan and prone to misinterpreting core economic indicators, raising concerns about his fitness to lead from those mainly on the left of the political aisle.
“There are a lot of competent conservative economists that could do this job. E.J. is not one of them,” wrote Kyle Pomerleau, a tax expert for the American Enterprise Institute, e in an X post after Antoni’s nomination in August.
Further concerns surfaced about Antoni’s credibility as an economic scorekeeper. NBC News reported he was present outside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 protests, while financial disclosures showed he earned over $495,000 from the Heritage Foundation, along with additional income from speeches and consulting.
In the four months following Trump’s announcement of country-by-country tariffs, job growth averaged under 27,000 per month, prompting the Federal Reserve to cut its benchmark rate in September to stabilize the labor market.
The White House also withdrew the nomination of Brian Quintenz to join the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as chairman.
Dr. E.J. Antoni continues to be one of the sharpest economic minds in the country. E.J.’s immense capabilities and insightful economic analysis have not changed—and we are very proud to have him on our team.
It is undeniable that BLS needs reform and @RealEJAntoni was the right… pic.twitter.com/qrDuOBcsxd
— Kevin Roberts (@KevinRobertsTX) October 1, 2025
