William Beach, the former Trump-appointed BLS commissioner, expressed skepticism that Antoni or any BLS commissioner would actually cease the collection and publication of monthly jobs data, in an interview with TPM. The report is mandated by federal law, and suspending its publication would require an executive order.

President Trump's nominee to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics is suggesting that the agency suspend its monthly jobs report, an economic staple that is relied upon by the Federal Reserve and U.S. businesses to gauge the health of the economy.

E.J. Antoni, whom President Donald Trump plans to nominate as the next head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, has proposed pausing publication of the monthly payroll report until the data can be made more reliable.