EJ Antoni told Newsmax on Monday his nomination to run the Bureau of Labor Statistics was pulled because several senators refused to meet with him.
"Unfortunately, we just had a lot of senators that weren't even willing to meet with us," Antoni said on "Rob Schmitt Tonight."
"[They] weren't even willing to have a conversation. There are some severe problems at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And these problems need to be addressed.
"It really is a shame, because the very senators who couldn't even be bothered [with] taking a meeting, let alone having a hearing on the matter, those are the people who are trying to set legislative policy based on numbers that are literally completely unreliable," Antoni added.
Antoni said the senators should have a special interest in making sure the Bureau of Labor Statistics puts out accurate information in a timely manner.
"Last month, we got the biggest annual revision ever, over 900,000 jobs, almost all of which were during the Biden administration," Antoni said. "It turns out those jobs never even existed."
Antoni's nomination, announced in August, was an attempt by President Donald Trump to gain greater control over the federal agency responsible for producing key economic data, including the monthly jobs report and consumer price index, which is used to measure inflation.
As the chief economist at The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, Antoni was a major critic of the BLS. Yet most economists saw him as overtly partisan and warned that his basic misreads on recessions, import prices, and other measures made him a risk to lead the federal agency.
Antoni will remain at the Heritage Foundation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
GET TODAY NEWSMAX+:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America with more than 30 million people watching!
Reuters Institute reports NEWSMAX is one of the top news brands in the U.S.
You need to watch NEWSMAX today.
Get it with great shows from Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, Carl Higbie, Rob Finnerty – and many more!
Find the NEWSMAX channel on your cable system – Go Here Now
BEST OFFER:
Sign up for NEWSMAX+ and get NEWSMAX, our streaming channel NEWSMAX2 and our military channel World at War.
Find hundreds of shows, movies and specials.
Even get Jon Voight's special series and President Trump's comedy programs and much more!
Watch NEWSMAX+ on your smartphone or home TV app.
Watch NEWSMAX anytime, anywhere!
Start your FREE trial now: NewsmaxPlus.com
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.