AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTPresident Trump said he would nominate Brett Matsumoto, a little-known government economist, to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics, six months after the president fired the previous head of the agency after it reported disappointing jobs numbers.Mr. Matsumoto is Mr. Trumps second pick to lead the bureau, which produces data on the labor market, inflation and other topics. In August, the president announced he would appoint E.J. Antoni, a conservative economist, to the job, but withdrew the nomination after it faced bipartisan criticism.Mr. Matsumoto is unlikely to face the same backlash. He has little public profile outside the nerdy world of statistical experts but is relatively well known inside it, in part because he was previously active on social media, writing posts that explained the nuances of statistical data. That differed starkly from Mr. Antoni, who was criticized for social media posts that often appeared to distort economic statistics to support partisan positions.Mr. Matsumoto did not respond to requests for comment.Mr. Trump announced the nomination in a post on Truth Social, where he reprised his attacks on the labor statistics agency. The president said the bureau to date had been led by WEAK and STUPID people and had produced VERY inaccurate numbers.Mr. Matsumoto, whose nomination must still be confirmed by the Senate, earned his doctorate in economics from the University of North Carolina in 2015 and has worked at the Bureau
Discussion
Join the conversation
Be the first to comment