Steve Bannon

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.”

July 9 (UPI) — Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on Wednesday met with a bipartisan group of U.S. senators and the Defense Department while Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., works to end funding for Israel.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., were among more than a dozen senators who met with Netanyahu while the prime minister was still visiting the U.S. Capitol this week.

The meeting occurred after Netanyahu met with President Donald Trump on Monday and Tuesday evening to discuss Iran and Gaza.

Tuesday’s meeting with Trump mostly focused on Gaza and efforts to secure a cease-fire and an eventual end to hostilities in Gaza that began after Hamas attacked, killed and kidnapped Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, 2023.

Celebrating the end of the war with Iran

In addition to meeting with senators on Wednesday, Netanyahu also toured the Pentagon with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, while celebrating the end of the 12-day war with Iran.

“Absolute thanks, gratitude and admiration for [Central Command], for the U.S. military, for the secretary of defense and the president of the United States,” Netanyahu said, as reported by the Department of Defense.

Netanyahu told Hegseth the Israeli people, the Israeli government and others around the world are grateful for the June 21 Operation Hammer U.S. aerial strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities.

Hegseth lauded “the skill of your professionals” in Israel’s military for softening Iran’s defenses and establishing aerial superiority that enabled the successful attacks.

“What was accomplished was absolutely incredible,” Hegseth told the prime minister. “It was an honor to be part of it.”

Netanyahu said the “entire world took note” of the strength of the alliance between Israel and the United States.

“It was like the roar of two lions,” he said, “and it was heard around the world.”

Greene seeks end of U.S. military funding for Israel

Despite the military success in Iran, Greene on Wednesday sought to end financial support for Israel’s military.

Greene told former Trump administration chief strategist Steve Bannon that she will introduce amendments to remove funding for Israel from the National Defense Authorization Act.

“There are some parts of this NDAA that I cannot support, and that’s continued foreign aid and foreign funding,” Greene told Bannon while being interviewed on his “War Room” podcast, The Hill reported.

Greene said she will introduce amendments that would eliminate $500 million in defense funding for Israel, which she said already gets $3.4 billion in annual funding from the United States.

She called Israel a “nuclear-armed” country that doesn’t need another $500 million from the United States for defense spending.