Washington DC - President Donald Trump on Monday picked a rightwing think tank economist to head the Bureau of Labor Statistics, replacing the commissioner he fired for reducing previously reported job growth estimates.

Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform that he is nominating E.J. Antoni to be commissioner of the bureau.

"Our Economy is booming, and E.J. will ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE," Trump said in the post.

"I know E.J. Antoni will do an incredible job in this new role."

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Antoni is the chief economist at the Heritage Foundation's center for the federal budget, according to the think tank's website.

Commentary by Antoni posted by the Heritage Foundation has consistently praised Trump's policies and criticized those of his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.

Trump last week reiterated – without providing evidence – that a recent employment report "was rigged."

He alleged that commissioner of labor statistics Erika McEntarfer had manipulated data to diminish his administration's accomplishments, drawing sharp criticism from economists across the political spectrum.

US job growth missed expectations in July, figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed, and sharp revisions to hiring figures in recent months brought them to the weakest levels since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Trump ordered the removal of McEntarfer hours after the figures were published.

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett later conceded that the jobs market was indeed cooling.

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US employment data point to challenges as companies took a cautious approach in hiring and investment while grappling with Trump's sweeping – and rapidly changing – tariffs this year.

Hassett defended McEntarfer's firing in an NBC News interview: "The president wants his own people there so that when we see the numbers they are more transparent and more reliable."

Economist William Beach, who previously held McEntarfer's post during Trump's first term, said the move set a "dangerous precedent."

The National Association for Business Economics also condemned her dismissal, saying large revisions in jobs numbers "reflect not manipulation, but rather the dwindling resources afforded to statistical agencies."

In addition to a successor to McEntarfer, Trump is also expected to name a replacement for Federal Reserve governor Adriana Kugler.

Kugler's early resignation, effective Friday, allows Trump a vacancy to fill as he pushes the independent central bank to lower interest rates.