The White House withdrew the nomination of E.J. Antoni as head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, following widespread criticism of the Project 2025 architect’s controversial social media history and professional qualifications. The 37-year-old Heritage Foundation economist had been nominated by President Donald Trump in August after the dismissal of former BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer.
Antoni confirmed the withdrawal of his nomination in a lengthy social media post on Wednesday, October 1, hinting at disappointment with elected officials who lacked the courage to support his agenda. He stated that Americans voted to reform the failed status quo of the D.C. Swamp, demanding government reform, transparency and efficiency. While thanking Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and senators who endorsed him, Antoni fired criticism at other elected officials who he claimed lacked the courage to support what he called a commonsense agenda of real change in Washington.
The Heritage Foundation economist’s nomination faced immediate backlash across the political spectrum after his appointment was announced. Critics highlighted Antoni’s role as a co-author of Project 2025, the comprehensive conservative blueprint for Republican presidential administrations that proposed sweeping federal agency reforms and expansion of executive power.
Antoni’s past as an online troll became a significant liability just weeks after his nomination. His offensive posts stretched back a decade under various usernames on platforms including X and the right-wing social network Parler. The posts included insulting comments about Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, with one particularly offensive tweet about Harris stating, “You can’t run a race on your knees” after she dropped out of the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination race.
Additional problematic content included false conspiracy theories about Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar and offensive comments about the late Republican Senator John McCain. Antoni also participated in podcast interviews where artwork depicting the German World War II battleship Bismarck was visible in the background, which he acknowledged during a 2023 Bitcoin podcast appearance.
Professional economists raised serious concerns about Antoni’s qualifications and partisan approach to economic data. University of Michigan Economics Professor Justin Wolfers described him as disastrously terrible, noting his history of misrepresenting or misunderstanding basic economic statistics. Jessica Riedl, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, indicated that Antoni’s articles and tweets contained more errors than any other think tank economist she had observed.
Antoni’s nomination came after Trump dismissed McEntarfer following disappointing July 2025 jobs data showing U.S. employers added only 73,000 jobs, far below expectations of around 109,000. The unemployment rate rose to 4.2 percent from 4.1 percent in June, with combined revisions showing 258,000 fewer jobs added over the previous three months compared to initial reports.
The nominee had proposed significant changes to BLS operations, including suspending monthly job reports in favor of less frequent quarterly data. In August interviews, Antoni suggested the BLS should implement less frequent reporting, arguing that quarterly data was more accurate though less timely than monthly figures.
Even the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board, owned by media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, criticized the nomination. The editorial stated that Antoni would need to remove his political allegiances if the public and markets were to trust BLS data under his leadership. The newspaper noted that downward revisions to labor statistics were common occurrences, citing similar large revisions under previous administrations.
Former BLS Commissioner William Beach, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, denounced McEntarfer’s dismissal as groundless and damaging. Beach emphasized that periodic revisions are standard practice as more accurate data becomes available from employer surveys.
Antoni holds master’s and doctoral degrees in economics from Northern Illinois University, which he completed in 2020. Since then, he worked for various right-wing organizations including the now-defunct FreedomWorks and the Texas Public Policy Foundation before joining the Heritage Foundation as chief economist and Richard Aster fellow.
The White House indicated it would announce a new nominee for the BLS role shortly, with an official stating that President Trump remains committed to fixing longstanding failures at the agency that have undermined public trust in critical economic data. Antoni confirmed he would continue working at the Heritage Foundation and advocating for reforms he believes the BLS desperately needs.