Trump nominates Brett Matsumoto to run the Bureau of Labor Statistics, making the key economic data release mechanism a focus.

President Trump announced his intention to nominate Brett Matsumoto as the Commissioner of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is the second nomination made by Trump to fill this position since it has been vacant since August of last year. In a post on the Truth Social platform on Friday evening, Trump stated, "I firmly believe that Brett, with his professional qualifications, can represent the American people and quickly address the series of issues that have long plagued the Bureau of Labor Statistics." The position has a four-year term and the nomination still needs to be approved by the Senate. Matsumoto holds a PhD in Economics and joined the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2015, working in the Price and Index Research Division. Most recently, he has temporarily left his original position to serve as a Senior Economist on the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Previously, after a report was released showing weak job growth data, Trump fired the then-Commissioner appointed by former President Biden, Erika McEntarfer, leaving the position vacant. Trump baselessly claimed that the data had been manipulated for political purposes. Economists from both parties in the US and former Commissioners of the Bureau of Labor Statistics have refuted Trump's accusations. During this time, William Wiatrovski, a senior official of the Bureau, has been acting as the Commissioner. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has around 2,000 staff members and has always been committed to ensuring the accuracy, transparency, and non-partisanship of its data, with the Commissioner being the only political appointment. Trump's allegations have raised concerns outside the agency about the credibility of its future data. The new Commissioner will face immense pressure to maintain the agency's neutral image. Like many statistical agencies, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has long been plagued by budget constraints and understaffing issues, which have worsened during Trump's second term. Due to limited resources, the Bureau had to cut back on several data collection tasks last year; in addition to frontline staff turnover, around one third of managerial positions in the agency are currently unfilled. The Price and Index Research Division, where Matsumoto works, focuses on long-term research and the core work is to address challenges related to price measurement. Matsumoto himself has published several research papers, many of which focus on consumer spending. Initially, Trump nominated EJ Antoni from the Heritage Foundation for the position, but this nomination faced criticism from both conservative and liberal economists, with many pointing out his numerous politically charged remarks and other controversial statements. Recognizing that Antoni would struggle to garner enough Senate confirmation votes, the White House eventually withdrew his nomination.