Well, we got a dose of political heartburn that wasn’t needed, and I’m not talking about the Schumer shutdown—a blunder of the Democrats' own making. We had a Republican senator vote against the nomination of Hung Cao to be Under Secretary of the Navy, and two likely defections that signaled the nomination of EJ Antoni to be Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner would need to be withdrawn, because guess who, Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) refused to meet with him (via NYT):
The White House has withdrawn the nomination of E.J. Antoni, a conservative economist, to serve as the leader of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the federal agency whose previous director was fired by President Trump after issuing an unfavorable jobs report.
A White House official confirmed the withdrawal late Tuesday, but offered no reason for the sudden change, saying only that Mr. Antoni was a “brilliant economist” and that Mr. Trump would announce a new nominee soon.
Mr. Trump tapped Mr. Antoni in August, shortly after ousting Erika McEntarfer, the previous B.L.S. commissioner, over unsubstantiated claims that the bureau had “rigged” data. Mr. Trump had seized on a report that month showing that hiring had been weaker than reported over the summer — a large but otherwise normal revision that the president nonetheless claimed as evidence of bias at the agency.
Was it over the allegation that Antoni was behind some now-deleted burner Twitter account that pushed reportedly incendiary remarks aimed at critics of Trump and other supposed conspiracy theories?
.@DailyCaller’s @ReaganReese_: “CNN reported that Collins and Murkowski declined to be with EJ Antoni, raising concerns that his nomination was in trouble. I'm wondering what message Collins, Murkowski are sending to the White House by not meeting with the President's nominees?”… pic.twitter.com/xNvby3iye4
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 1, 2025
On Cao, Collins voted to confirm him, while Murkowski did not. What is it with these two? Granted, it’s not just them—Thom Tillis and Mitch McConnell are the other problem children in the GOP Senate.
In a lengthy statement, Antoni said:
Americans voted to reform the failed status quo of the D.C. Swamp, demanding government reform, transparency, and efficiency. And, most of all, they voted for a revitalized economy after years of wasteful spending, inflation, and general mismanagement. Those changes are not possible without accurate economic data consistently delivered in a timely manner—something for which I have advocated for years, well before President Trump asked me to lead BLS.
I want to thank the President and the Treasury Secretary, all the senators who took the time to meet with me, and many others for their endorsements and faith in my abilities and commitment to the very reforms the American people asked this administration to deliver. It is unfortunate that there are other elected officials who lack the courage to support this commonsense agenda of real change in Washington.
I look forward to continuing my economic work at The Heritage Foundation, including continuing to advocate for the reforms BLS so desperately needs. The American people deserve nothing less than for these improvements to be implemented immediately as part of a larger agenda to make government more efficient and make the American Dream more attainable.
Whatever the case, when it comes to the real fights, rest assured, these two, Collins and Murkowski, cannot be counted on—ever. But you knew that already. Murkowski signaled she might switch parties in late September. Lady, you've sort of done that already.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she might switch parties.pic.twitter.com/AyNEiwvH4v
— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) September 27, 2025
UPDATE: Senator Collins' office reached out to Townhall to clarify the Antoni nomination, adding "Senator Collins does not make her decision on nominees prior to their hearing."