WASHINGTON, July 15 - Brett Matsumoto, President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, moved forward on Wednesday when the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted along party lines to send his nomination to the full Senate.
The committee approved Matsumoto by a 12-11 vote, a partisan tally that advances the economist one step closer to overseeing the federal agency that produces essential indicators on employment, wages and price pressures. No date has been announced for final consideration on the Senate floor.
Also approved by the committee on Wednesday were two nominations related to the National Labor Relations Board. James Macy was advanced to be a member of the NLRB in a 12-11 party-line vote, while David Prouty received bipartisan support for a second term on the board, passing by 17-6.
The BLS supplies statistics relied upon by the Federal Reserve, economists, investors and the public to assess the labor market, inflation trends and other dimensions of the roughly $32 trillion U.S. economy. Given that role, leadership of the agency carries significance for how policymakers and markets interpret underlying economic conditions.
During a June confirmation hearing, Matsumoto said he did not believe BLS data had been fabricated or rigged and expressed confidence in the agency’s career staff who gather and process the statistics. Matsumoto, an economist who joined the BLS in 2015 and is currently on leave while serving at the White House Council of Economic Advisers, added that he would ensure the published output reflects the work of those career professionals.
He told the panel he intended to address technical problems that have affected the quality of some BLS data in recent years but did not repeat former President Trump’s accusations that the agency's numbers were manipulated for political ends. Trump had removed the prior BLS commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, after a monthly employment report produced unusually large revisions to earlier job-creation figures, calling those numbers "fake."
The president initially nominated conservative economist E.J. Antoni to lead the agency but later withdrew that nomination. With Matsumoto's advancement by the committee, his confirmation now awaits action by the full Senate.
Context and procedural notes
- The committee votes were sharply divided on party lines for Matsumoto and Macy, while Prouty captured broader support.
- No schedule has been set for final Senate votes on the nominations moved out of committee.