Meet the Press NOW — August 11
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Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump nominates Bureau of Labor Statistics critic to head agency
Aug. 11 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump on Monday nominated economist E.J. Antoni as commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a non-partisan agency he has criticized. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, the chief economist with the conservative Heritage Foundation would replace Erika McEntarfer, who was fired by Trump on Aug. 1, alleging that she had manipulated the jobs reports for three months. "I am pleased to announce that I am nominating Highly Respected Economist, Dr. E.J. Antoni, as the next Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics," Trump posted on Truth Social. "Our Economy is booming, and E.J. will ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE. I know E.J. Antoni will do an incredible job in this new role. Congratulations E.J.!" Before the Heritage Foundation, he worked for the Texas Public Policy Commission. He holds master's and doctorate degrees in economics from Northern Illinois University. Last week, Antoni posted on X: "There are better ways to collect, process, and disseminate data -- that is the task for the next BLS commissioner, and only consistent delivery of accurate data in a timely manner will rebuild the trust that has been lost over the last several years." On Nov. 13, one week after Trump was elected again, he wrote on X: "DOGE needs to take a chainsaw to the BLS." Antoni had called for the firing of McEntarfer on Steve Bannon's podcast after the July jobs report was released. Later that day, she lost her job. "Last weeks Job's Report was RIGGED," Trump wrote on Truth Social, three days after the report came out. "Those big adjustments were made to cover up, and level out, the FAKE political numbers that were CONCOCTED in order to make a great Republican Success look less stellar!!!" Bannon, who was Trump's chief strategist for a portion of his first term, had advocated for hiring Antoni, who interviewed for the post, The Wall Street Journal on Sunday reported. Senate Republicans hold a 53-47 advantage and confirmation only requires 50 votes. In January 2024, McEntarfer was confirmed 86-8. "I don't think there's any grounds at all for this, for this firing, and it really hurts the statistical system," William Beach, who was nominated by Trump during his first term, said on CNN earlier this month. "Suppose that they get a new commissioner ... And they do a bad number. Well, everybody's going to think, 'well, it's not as bad as it probably really is,' because they're going to suspect political influence. So, this is damaging." The BLS distributes data that is used by agencies, including the Federal Reserve, and companies. Besides monthly jobs reports, BLS also provides data on occupations, including wages and job outlook. Consumer spending is also analyzed. The report showed 73,000 new jobs in July and unemployment rose to 4.2% from 4.1%, which was predicted and still historically low. But the previous two months were adjusted downward. May was revised from 144,000 jobs added to 19,000 jobs added, and June's revision went from 147,000 jobs added to 14,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Employment Situation Summary. The BLS said that monthly revisions "result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors."
Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump Taps BLS Skeptic To Replace Leader He Fired Over Grim Jobs Report
President Donald Trump announced on social media Monday he's nominating E.J. Antoni, a rightwing economist who criticized the Bureau of Labor Statistics data-collecting, to head that very department. If confirmed by Congress, Antoni, the chief economist at the Heritage Foundation, will replace former BLS Commissioner Dr. Erika McEntarfer, who Trump fired earlier this month after she issued a damning report on poor job growth under his presidency. 'Our Economy is booming, and E.J. will ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE,' said Trump. When Trump fired McEntarfer, he claimed without any evidence that she had manipulated the jobs data to make him look bad. A HuffPost analysis of Labor Department data found that Trump delivered the worst three months of job growth since the pandemic. Antoni has been critical of the BLS, posting on X days after McEntarfer's ousting that the bureau should change how it collects jobs data. 'There are better ways to collect, process, and disseminate data — that is the task for the next BLS commissioner, and only consistent delivery of accurate data in a timely manner will rebuild the trust that has been lost over the last several years,' he wrote last week. During an appearance on Steve Bannon's podcast earlier this month, Antoni called for McEntarfer to be fired. When Bannon asked him whether a 'MAGA Republican that President Trump knows and trusts' had been installed at BLS, Antoni replied, 'Unfortunately we still haven't gotten there, and I think that's part of the reason why we continue to have all of these different data problems.' In a later episode of his show after McEntarfer's firing, Bannon said he was 'pushing' for Antoni to head the BLS, praising him as 'the guy that almost single-handedly took it down by going through their numbers.' Jason Furman, a top economic adviser in Barack Obama's White House who is now an economics professor at Harvard University, was highly critical of Antoni's nomination. 'I don't think I have ever publicly criticized any Presidential nominee before. But E.J. Antoni is completely unqualified to be BLS Commissioner,' he wrote on social media. 'He is an extreme partisan and does not have any relevant expertise. He would be a break from decades of nonpartisan technocrats.' Antoni's work at the Heritage Foundation includes authoring some of Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for a second Trump administration. The Heritage Foundation was also instrumental in propping up Trump's baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him and has shared false reports of noncitizens registering to vote. Related... Trump Fires Labor Statistics Head In Meltdown Over Grim Jobs Report Former Labor Secretary Calls Absolute 'Bulls**t' On Trump's Jobs Report Claims Donald Trump Just Delivered The Worst Three Months Of Job Growth Since The Pandemic
Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US and China extend tariff truce deadline to November
The US and China have extended their trade truce until 10 November, just hours before a jump in tariffs had been set to take effect. In a joint statement, the world's two biggest economies said higher tariffs on each other's goods announced earlier this year will be suspended for another 90 days. The higher tariffs were set to take effect on Tuesday unless the truce was extended. Talks last month ended with both sides calling the discussions "constructive". China's top negotiator said at the time that the two countries would push to preserve the truce, while US officials said they were waiting for final sign-off from US President Donald Trump. Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform that he had signed an executive order on Monday to continue the tariff truce. "I have just signed an Executive Order that will extend the Tariff Suspension on China for another 90 days. All other elements of the Agreement will remain the same," he wrote in his post. The truce extension will give more time for negotiations about "remedying trade imbalances" and "unfair trade practices", the White House said. The talks will also aim to increase access for US exporters to China and address national security and economic issues, the statement also said. A return of higher duties would have risked further trade turmoil and uncertainty amid worries about the effect of tariffs on prices and the economy. Trade tensions between the US and China reached fever pitch in April, after Trump unveiled sweeping new tariffs on goods from countries around the world, with China facing some of the highest levies. Beijing retaliated with tariffs of its own, sparking a tit-for-tat fight that saw tariffs soar into the triple digits and nearly shut down trade between the two countries. The two sides had agreed to set aside some of those measures in May. That agreement left Chinese goods entering the US facing an additional 30% tariff compared with the start of the year, with US goods facing a new 10% tariff in China. The two sides remain in discussions about issues including access to China's rare earths, its purchases of Russian oil, and US curbs on sales of advanced technology, including chips to China. Trump recently relaxed some of those export restrictions, allowing firms such as AMD and Nvidia to resume sales of certain chips to firms in China in exchange for sharing 15% of their revenues with the government. The US is also pushing for the spin-off of TikTok from its Chinese owner ByteDance, a move that has been opposed by Beijing. Earlier on Monday in remarks to reporters, Trump did not commit to extending the truce but said dealings had been going "nicely". A day earlier he called on Beijing to increase its purchases of US soybeans. Even with the truce, trade flows between the countries have been hit this year, with US government figures showing US imports of Chinese goods in June cut nearly in half compared with June 2024. In the first six months of the year, the US imported $165bn (£130bn) worth of goods from China, down roughly 15% from the same time last year. American exports to China n roughly 20% year-on-year for the same period. Why were US job numbers which riled Trump revised down by so much? The US-EU trade deal in numbers - how it compares to UK deal Fed holds interest rates steady despite Trump pressure Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
