Trump nominates senior economist as next BLS chief
President Donald Trump has nominated Brett Matsumoto, a senior economist on the White House Council of Economic Advisers who previously served as a supervisory research economist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), to be the next BLS commissioner. trump criticized the agency after firing former commissioner Erika McEntarfer over a weak July jobs report he called “rigged,” and saeid Matsumoto can fix longstanding problems with the BLS’s data. The contested July report showed just 73,000 jobs added and revisions that reduced prior months’ job counts by about 258,000. Matsumoto, who earned a Ph.D. in economics from UNC–Chapel Hill in 2015 and has a decade of BLS experience studying consumer prices, now awaits Senate confirmation; he replaces an earlier nominee, EJ Antoni, whose nomination was withdrawn amid confirmation concerns.
Trump nominates senior economist as next Bureau of Labor Statistics chief
President Donald Trump has nominated senior economist Brett Matsumoto from the White House Council of Economic Advisers to head the beleaguered Bureau of Labor Statistics after he fired the agency’s previous commissioner last year.
“For many years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, under WEAK and STUPID people, has been FAILING American Businesses, Policymakers, and Families by releasing VERY inaccurate numbers. That is why I FIRED the former Commissioner, and am pleased to nominate the very talented Brett Matsumoto as the next Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS),” he announced on Truth Social late Friday.
In emphasizing Matsumoto’s qualifications for the job, Trump noted that he once served as a supervisory research economist for the BLS.
“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 said. “Brett Matsumoto is a Brilliant, Reputable, and Trusted Economist who will restore GREATNESS to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Congratulations Brett!”
Trump has directed his ire toward the Department of Labor agency ever since former Commissioner Erika McEntarfer authorized the release of a weak jobs report last summer. Trump claimed the report was “rigged” to undermine the economic successes of his administration.
The U.S. economy added only 73,000 jobs in July, following major downward revisions to the prior two months. An estimated 258,000 fewer jobs were added in May and June, according to the report scrutinized by Trump.
He then fired McEntarfer, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden in 2024.
Matsumoto’s pending confirmation now heads to the Senate for approval.
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Trump previously nominated Heritage Foundation economist EJ Antoni as BLS commissioner, but he later withdrew that choice over concerns Antoni wouldn’t have been easily confirmed by the Senate. The newest nominee appears to be a less controversial choice.
Matsumoto earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware and a doctorate in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2015. He has served at BLS for the past decade, conducting research focused on measuring consumer prices.
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