U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 30th (local time) that he will nominate Brett Matsumoto as Director General of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Trump posted on Truth Social, a social media platform, that he is confident "Brett has the expertise to quickly resolve the Bureau of Labor Statistics' long-standing problems for the American people." Matsumoto joined the BLS in 2015 and worked as a supervising research economist overseeing areas including the consumer price index measurement unit. He is currently detailed to the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) as a senior economist. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in economics from the University of Delaware. He received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The BLS Director General post has been vacant for about six months. Trump last August fired Erica Meckentaffer, who had been appointed as BLS Director General under the Joe Biden administration. At the time, he cited that employment statistics had been manipulated to favor Democrats. He then nominated E.J. Antoni, chief economist at the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, as a successor. However, after it became likely he would not win Senate confirmation because of past posts containing hateful content on social media, the nomination was withdrawn.
Established in 1884, the BLS is an independent agency under the U.S. Department of Labor with a staff of about 2,100. It produces key U.S. economic indicators, including the jobs report and the consumer price index (CPI). The Director General is appointed for a four-year term with Senate confirmation.