Steve Bannon, a senior adviser to President Donald Trump in his first term and an influential voice in conservative circles, is pushing for EJ Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bismarck, Antoni told one follower in April 2024, is “hard not to love” — adding he feels the same way about two American ships: the U.S.S. Texas, which fought the Nazis, and the New Jersey, which was stationed in the Pacific theater during World War II but later participated in U.S. operations in the Lebanese Civil War.

Frequent right-wing media guest and Project 2025 contributor E.J. Antoni — President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics after he fired its previous commissioner following a bad jobs report — has on multiple occasions called Social Security a “Ponzi scheme.

Former Heritage Foundation economist has suggested the Bureau of Labor Statistics temporarily stop issuing monthly jobs reports, a key economic indicator used by project owners.

Former BLS Commissioner Erica Groshen told Newsweek she is "trying to avoid rushing to judgment" on the new pick.

E.J. Antoni lacks the research record of previous commissioners of the Bureau of Labor Statistics but has a solid record of backing Trump’s narrative of the economy.

The artwork depicting a German battleship called the Bismarck was visible in two interviews with Antoni in 2023 and 2024.

Donald Trump’s new pick to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics proudly showed off a picture of the German World War II battleship Bismarck “in all his glory” during a podcast. E.J. Antoni, tapped to replace former BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer,