President Donald Trump is pulling his controversial nomination for rightwing economist E.J. “President Trump is committed to fixing the longstanding failures at the BLS that have undermined the public’s trust in critical economic data.”Sources told both outlets that the Senate has received the paperwork necessary to withdraw the nomination. The Heritage Foundation, where Antoni is the chief economist, maintained Antoni’s qualifications in a statement from its president, Kevin Roberts. Following his nomination, economists raised concerns about Antoni’s allegiance to Trump, saying the BLS commissioner needs to be focused on real numbers without putting any spin on them. Antoni is completely unqualified to be BLS Commissioner,” Jason Furman, a top economic adviser in Barack Obama’s White House wrote on social media at the time.