U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said he was nominating economist E.J. Antoni as the new Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner, 10 days after firing the agency's previous leader following a weak scorecard of the job market,

President Donald Trump has nominated E.J. Antoni to become the new commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), according to Trump's post to Truth Social on Monday night. Newsweek reached out to Antoni via online form for comment.

E.J. Antoni, a staunch critic of the agency, had emerged in recent days as a favorite candidate among some influential Trump advisors, including Stephen K. Bannon. He has questioned the legitimacy of the agency’s data over the past year.