On September 30, Trump withdrew EJ Antoni’s nomination as head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Antoni was the Heritage Foundation’s chief economist.
Trump “looks forward to nominating a new candidate to lead the BLS very soon.” The exact circumstances surrounding this withdrawal of support are unknown. However, contributing factors may be Antoni’s presence during the January 6 insurrection, as well as his deeply disturbing online posts. Steve Hanke, a professor and advisor to former President Ronald Reagan, postulated that Trump came to the realization that politicizing the BLS would be too costly.
The BLS will continue to be run on a temporary basis by William Wiatrowski.
