The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to withdraw the nomination of Heritage Foundation economist Dr. E.J. Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
CNN reported that the alleged withdrawal of Antoni’s nomination to lead the BLS came after “CNN’s KFile reported earlier this month” that on a now-deleted X account, he had allegedly made sexually offensive remarks about former Vice President Kamala Harris and “derogatory remarks about gay people.”
A White House official described Antoni as a “brilliant economist and an American patriot,” while adding that President Donald Trump would be announcing a new nominee to lead the BLS.
“Dr EJ Antoni is a brilliant economist and an American patriot that will continue to do good work on behalf of our great country,” the White House official said in a statement. “President Trump is committed to fixing the longstanding failures at the BLS that have undermined the public’s trust in critical economic data.”
Per CNN:
The withdrawal comes after CNN’s KFile reported earlier this month that Antoni operated a since-deleted Twitter account that featured sexually degrading attacks on Kamala Harris, derogatory remarks about gay people, conspiracy theories, and crude insults aimed at critics of President Donald Trump.
A person familiar with the matter said GOP Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski had declined to meet with Antoni, potentially raising concerns that his nomination was in trouble. CNN has reached out to the White House and Antoni.
Kevin Roberts, the President of the Heritage Foundation, described Antoni as being “one of the sharpest economic minds in the country.” Dr. E.J. Antoni continues to be one of the sharpest economic minds in the country,” Roberts wrote in a post on X. “E.J.’s immense capabilities and insightful economic analysis have not changed—and we are very proud to have him on our team.”
“It is undeniable that BLS needs reform and @RealEJAntoni was the right man for the job,” Roberts added.
The report that the White House would withdraw Antoni’s nomination to lead the BLS comes after Trump announced in August that he had picked Antoni to serve as the commissioner of the BLS. Trump’s announcement that Antoni had been picked to lead the BLS came after he fired Dr. Erika McEntarfer from her position as commissioner of the BLS after a “dismal jobs reports.”
Trump accused McEntarfer, a Biden nominee, of “faking employment data to boost” Harris’s 2024 presidential campaign.
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