August 11, 2025
Trump taps Project 2025 author to run economic data agency
Heritage Foundation ideologue will control numbers that move global markets
🔐Ethics🏛️Government💰Economy
Trump nominated Heritage Foundation economist E.J. Antoni to run Bureau of Labor Statistics in Aug. 2025
Antoni co-wrote Project 2025 and appeared on 
Steve Bannon podcast calling for previous commissioner firing
BLS produces jobs numbers, inflation data, and unemployment stats that move global markets
Antoni would have controlled economic numbers determining Social Security payments and Fed decisions
International investors make trillion-dollar bets based on U.S. statistics credibility
Antoni called BLS reports a random number generator and criticized agency data as make-believe
71 million Social Security beneficiaries cost-of-living adjustments depend on BLS inflation calculations
Antoni withdrew nomination in Sep. 2025 after bipartisan opposition including Republican senators
🔐Ethics🏛️Government💰Economy
Test Your Knowledge
10
Q1
Trump claimed the July jobs report was "rigged" to make him look bad, despite economists finding no evidence of manipulation.
Q2
Where did Antoni receive his Ph.D. in economics?
Q3
The BLS recently had to suspend data collection entirely in three cities due to budget cuts.
Q4
E.J. Antoni contributed to Project 2025, the conservative policy blueprint that Trump publicly distanced himself from during his campaign.
Q5
Even some Trump supporters criticized the firing of the previous BLS commissioner.
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Start QuizPeople, bills, and sources
E.J. Antoni
Heritage Foundation Economist
Donald Trump
President of the United States
Steve Bannon
Former Trump Advisor