Trump Appoints Dr. Eji Antoni as BLS Commissioner

President Donald Trump has revealed his decision to appoint Dr. Eji Antoni, an economist with the Heritage Foundation, as the new member of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

“I’m thrilled to announce that Dr. Eji Antoni, a highly regarded economist, will be the next commissioner for the Bureau of Labor Statistics,” Trump stated in a post on True Social. “Our economy is thriving, and EJ ensures that the data we receive is both honest and accurate. I have full confidence that EJ Antoni will excel in this role. Congratulations, EJ!”

Antoni’s appointment follows Trump’s dismissal of Dr. Erica Mantelfer, who had been nominated by Biden to serve as the BLS commissioner, amid criticisms over a disappointing job report. Trump accused Mantelfer of manipulating employment data to support Kamala Harris’s 2024 presidential campaign.

“We found out that the employment figures were generated by Biden’s pick, Labor Statistics Commissioner Dr. Erica Mantelfer. They tried to inflate job numbers ahead of the elections to boost Kamala’s chances,” Trump claimed. He continued, “This Bureau of Labor Statistics exaggerated job growth in March 2024 by approximately 818,000 jobs. Then again, just prior to the 2024 elections in August and September, the number was 112,000. These figures were unprecedented. How can anyone be so misguided?”

In an interview with Saturday Breitbart News in August 2024, Antoni mentioned that most job growth under Biden’s presidency predominantly benefited “foreign-born workers.”

He discussed the troubling economic situation under the Biden-Harris administration, citing data from the BLS, stating that around 1.2 million jobs had been lost for American citizens.

“I’ve seen 1.2 million jobs lost among native-born Americans,” Antoni remarked. “Therefore, all the jobs went to foreign-born workers, totaling 1.3 million. Surprisingly, today, there are fewer native Americans in the workforce than five years ago, which is quite startling.”