Earlier this month, about six months into his administration, President Donald Trump made the unprecedented move of firing the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner Erika McEntarfer.
The firing followed the release of a July jobs report that featured historically large revisions for May and June.
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The former host of “The Apprentice” didn’t just fire McEntarfer; he made a show of the reasons for the decision.
To justify the move, President Trump brought out charts, but no evidence, suggesting President Joe Biden’s administration overestimated job creation by 1.5 million jobs during his term.
The decision to fire McEntarfer has sent ripple effects throughout Washington, D.C., Wall Street and beyond, as the competence of the person tapped to replace her has been questioned.
E.J. Antoni is a chief economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation. White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers says his “education and vast experience as an economist have prepared him to produce accurate public data for businesses, households, and policymakers to inform their decision-making.”
But Antoni’s own decision-making is being called into question this week following a bombshell report that places him at the scene of one of the ugliest chapters in modern American history.
BLS Commissioner nominee E.J. Antoni seen in photo from January 6, White House downplays
E.J. Antoni, President Trump’s pick to replace the recently fired Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner, was at least among the crowd outside the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
That day, thousands from the crowd outside the Capitol turned violent. They attempted to breach the federal building to stop Joe Biden’s certification as president of the United States.
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NBC News reported clear footage of Antoni outside the Capitol that was archived on the conservative-leaning social media platform Parler.
The White House was quick to downplay the news.
A White House official told NBC News that Antoni was in Washington that fateful day for “in-person meetings with his then-employer at an office blocks away from the Capitol, and that he did not cross any barricades or participate in any demonstrations.”
The footage seen by NBC does not show him crossing barricades or demonstrating.
Pro Publica archived the video as part of its coverage of the riot and NBC News.
Trump’s pick to run the Bureau of Labor Statistics was at the Jan. 6 insurrection https://t.co/7tMteMhsIS pic.twitter.com/w0UyODo8fs
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) August 14, 2025
It shows Antoni walking away from the crowd as it surrounded the Capitol before the building was breached.
“EJ was in town for meetings, and it is wrong and defamatory to suggest EJ engaged in anything inappropriate or illegal,” Rogers told NBC.
Nearly 1,500 people at the Capitol that day were convicted of doing something illegal, but President Trump granted all of them pardons and commuted the sentences of others.
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Here’s what’s next for E.J. Antoni
This week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the BLS could pause its monthly jobs report while the new team develops a new methodology.
This is the action plan from the new nominee to head the agency, E.J. Antoni.
But in the meantime, Antoni still needs to be confirmed by the Senate.
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics is under the auspices of the commissioner, who is appointed by the president and confirmed by a full Senate vote for a four-year term.
In January 2024, McEntarfer was confirmed by a broad bipartisan vote of 86 “yes” votes to 8 “no” votes. Current Vice President JD Vance cast a vote in her favor.
Antoni only needs a simple majority to be confirmed, but some Senators may be hesitant to confirm someone present at a protest-turned-riot that had many of them scared for their lives.
Antoni is unlikely to receive any votes from Democrats, especially following the comments from many of his colleagues, so to block his nomination, they only need a few defectors.
Republicans control the Senate by a 53 to 47 majority, so Democrats will need at least four defections, since the vice president can cast the deciding vote in the case of a tie.
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