White House Withdraws E.J. Antoni Nomination

The United States — White House withdrew the nomination of E.J. Antoni to lead the United States — Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) following widespread criticism and concerns about his qualifications, partisanship, and past controversial statements. Antoni, a conservative economist from The Heritage Foundation, was nominated by Donald Trump after he fired the previous BLS commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, accusing her of manipulating jobs reports. Economists and political figures raised alarms about Antoni's suitability, citing his lack of government experience, critical views on BLS data, and reports of his presence at the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack and controversial social media posts. The withdrawal, which was formally sent to the United States, aims to mitigate concerns about the independence and credibility of the BLS, an agency vital for producing key economic data like the monthly jobs report and consumer price index. Donald Trump is expected to announce a new nominee soon. Concurrently, the United States — White House also withdrew the nomination of Brian Quintenz to the United States — United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission.