Trump Picks Veteran Economist To Replace Fired Bureau Of Labor Statistics Chief | EUROtoday

WASHINGTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned on Friday he was nominating profession economist Brett Matsumoto to be commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, months after he fired the earlier chief on the heels of a weak jobs report.

“I am confident that Brett has the expertise to QUICKLY fix the long history of issues at the BLS on behalf of the American People,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Trump fired then-Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, appointed by former President Joe Biden, in August, accusing her with out proof of manipulating the July figures, which confirmed unexpectedly gradual employment progress and which enormously revised down nonfarm payrolls for the prior two months.

In addition to employment information, the bureau produces U.S. inflation experiences, amongst others.

Matsumoto is a veteran economist on the BLS, who’s on go away to work on the White House Council of Economic Advisers. He holds a doctorate in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Trump initially picked conservative economist E.J. Antoni to go the company however withdrew the nomination. Matsumoto’s nomination requires affirmation by the Senate.

Former BLS commissioners have described Trump’s assaults on the company as unwarranted, saying they risked undermining belief in financial information and driving profession economists out of their roles.

Trump is beneath rising stress to ship sturdy financial outcomes forward of the November elections that can decide management of Congress. Voters have soured on his dealing with of cost-of-living points, with simply 35% of them giving the Republican president passing markson the economic system.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Chris Reese and William Mallard)