President Donald Trump is pulling his controversial nomination for rightwing economist E.J. Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The White House confirmed the switch-up following reports from CNN and The Associated Press on Tuesday, saying Trump “plans to announce a new nominee very soon.”
Antoni is “a brilliant economist and an American patriot that will continue to do good work on behalf of our great country,” a White House spokesperson said. “President Trump is committed to fixing the longstanding failures at the BLS that have undermined the public’s trust in critical economic data.”
Sources told both outlets that the Senate has received the paperwork necessary to withdraw the nomination.
The Heritage Foundation, where Antoni is the chief economist, maintained Antoni’s qualifications in a statement from its president, Kevin Roberts.
