What happened
The White House has filed paperwork with the Senate to withdraw the nomination of E.J. Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), three sources familiar with the matter told CNN. The move comes after CNN’s KFile revealed a now-deleted Twitter account that featured sexually degrading remarks about Kamala Harris, disparaging comments about LGBTQ people, conspiracy theories, and crude insults aimed at critics of formerPresident Trump. In the wake of the report, Republican lawmakers reportedly avoided meetings with Antoni, raising questions about the nomination’s fate.
Background on Antoni and the BLS
Antoni positioned himself as a watchdog for government accountability in media appearances and Heritage Foundation blog posts. He was nominated in August to lead the BLS after President Trump dismissed the agency’s previous commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, whom Trump accused of rigging job data following the July release. The BLS itself is a centuries-old, independent body within the Department of Labor, staffed by a Senate-confirmed commissioner and overseen by the labor secretary. The White House defended Antoni at the time, but did not address whether his past online statements reflected his current beliefs.
Revisions, data credibility, and politics
The controversy arrives amid a heated debate over the reliability of the data produced by the BLS. The July jobs report that spurred the firing of McEntarfer was followed by sizable revisions to May and June figures, diminishing the perceived credibility of official statistics for some political actors. May’s job total was revised from 139,000 to 19,000, a 120,000-job swing, while June’s figure was revised from a preliminary 147,000 to 14,000. Analysts note that revisions are common in BLS practice but can become politically charged when data are used to support competing narratives about the state of the economy.
Congressional context and what it means for the nomination
Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (which has jurisdiction over the BLS nomination), would not directly confirm whether the White House had formally withdrawn the nomination. He did remark that the official notice stage of a nomination often signals whether it is moving forward, suggesting Antoni’s path to confirmation had stalled. The broader Republican response—along with Collins and Murkowski reportedly declining to meet with Antoni—points to mounting skepticism about moving ahead with a nominee tied to controversial past remarks and a disputed data record.
Why BLS independence matters
The BLS’s role in compiling and reporting key labor-market indicators makes its leadership a focal point in debates over data integrity and political influence. While revisions to monthly job totals are a standard feature of BLS reporting, the political heat surrounding the agency has intensified calls for preserving its nonpartisan status. The head of the BLS, along with the labor secretary, sits within a framework designed to keep economic statistics objective and credible for policymakers, investors, and the public alike.
What happens next
With the nomination withdrawn, the White House and Senate may revisit the process, possibly naming a different candidate with a more uncontroversial record. In the near term, the BLS will continue to publish its monthly data, with revisions and methodology updates carried out by career staff who maintain the independence of the agency’s statistical work. The episode underscores the ongoing debate over how much political influence, if any, should touch official economic statistics—and who should have the authority to appoint a political leader of the BLS.
