Trump nominates government economist to lead Bureau of Labor Statistics after firing a prior commissioner

President Trump said Friday that he is nominating the government economist Brett Matsumoto to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics, after previously accusing the federal agency of releasing low monthly jobs numbers in order to make him look bad.

There is no evidence that the Bureau of Labor Statistics sought to undermine Mr. Trump with its data releases, but a string of revisions to prior reports this summer showed that the job market weakened after Mr. Trump returned to White House. 

The president fired the agency’s previous Senate-confirmed commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, in August, claiming she had “faked the Jobs Numbers.” The agency has since been run on an interim basis by a career government economist.

McEntarfer was fired hours after the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report that found just over 70,000 jobs were added in July, and 258,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than previously estimated. While those downward revisions were large by historical standards, it’s not unusual for the bureau to revise its figures as it receives more survey responses.

Beyond the monthly jobs reports, the BLS also releases an array of economic reports, including the consumer price index that covers inflation.

The president maintained in a Friday night social media post that the BLS is a troubled agency that had been led by “WEAK and STUPID people.” But he said that Matsumoto would “Quickly fix” any issues with the agency. 

Matsumoto has worked as a supervisory research economist at BLS and has been serving as a senior economist for the White House Council of Economic Advisers. He has a doctorate from the University of North Carolina. 

“Brett Matsumoto is a Brilliant, Reputable, and Trusted Economist who will restore GREATNESS to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,” Mr. Trump said on Truth Social.

The president had initially picked E.J. Antoni, the chief economist at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, to lead the BLS. But the White House withdrew the nomination in September as Antoni faced sharp criticisms about his qualifications.