Trump Hires Data Chief Who Agreed With Steve Bannon’s Call for ‘MAGA Republican’ to Control Jobs Data
President Donald Trump announced this week that he was hiring Heritage Foundation senior scholar E.J. Antoni to head the Bureau of Labor Statistics, almost two weeks after Antoni and Steve Bannon called for a “MAGA Republican” to take over the role.
Antoni joined Bannon’s War Room program on August 1 after the BLS put out their July jobs numbers, which also included a brutal revision for the May and June jobs estimates – removing some 250,000 jobs.
“It’s a quarter of a million jobs,” Bannon fumed while discussing the report and before eventually asking Antoni:
What in the hell is going on there? And have we put in our own person into BLS? Is a MAGA Republican that President Trump knows and trusts, are they running the Bureau of Labor Statistics yet, sir?
Antoni replied, “No, unfortunately, Steve, we still haven’t gotten there. And I think that’s part of the reason why we continue to have all of these different data problems.”
Trump also accused Dr. Erika McEntarfer, the Biden-appointed BLS commissioner, of “rigging” jobs data to make him look “bad” after July’s numbers came in soft and fired her shortly after Bannon and Antoni’s conversation.
Trump also went so far as to compare the jobs data to his widely debunked claims the 2020 election was stolen from him.
“In my opinion, today’s Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad — Just like when they had three great days around the 2024 Presidential Election, and then, those numbers were ‘taken away’ on November 15, 2024, right after the Election, when the Jobs Numbers were massively revised DOWNWARD, making a correction of over 818,000 Jobs — A TOTAL SCAM,” he wrote on Truth Social. “Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell is no better! But, the good news is, our Country is doing GREAT!”
Trump’s firing of McEntarfer resulted in widespread criticism, with pundits warning that Trump was intimidating government officials to only present him positive information. Others argued that the move would cast doubt on any data released by McEntarfer’s successor, who would no longer be seen as impartial.
Trump announced Antoni’s nomination on Truth Social, writing: “I am pleased to announce that I am nominating Highly Respected Economist, Dr. E.J. Antoni, as the next Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. E.J. will ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST AND ACCURATE.” Antoni, a contributor to Project 2025, will need Senate confirmation to stay in the role.
