US President Donald Trump has nominated conservative economist EJ Antoni to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), replacing Erika McEntarfer, who was fired after what Trump called "rigged" jobs figures.

• Antoni, a federal budget analyst at the Heritage Foundation, has previously called BLS statistics "phoney baloney" and suggested a "chainsaw" approach to the agency.
• The appointment requires confirmation by the US Senate, currently controlled by Trump’s Republican allies.
• McEntarfer was dismissed after July BLS figures missed expectations and involved significant downward revisions of previous months’ data, sparking accusations of politicizing economic data.