WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is withdrawing the nomination of E.J. Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics, according to a White House official and an AP source who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the action, which has yet to be publicly announced.
The White House official declined to say the reasons for withdrawing the nomination, only to say that Antoni was a talented economist and that President Donald Trump plans to announce a new nominee soon. The Senate received paperwork formally withdrawing Antoni’s nomination on Tuesday.
Antoni’s nomination, announced in August, was an attempt by Trump to gain greater control over the federal agency responsible for producing key economic data, including the monthly jobs report and consumer price index, which is used t