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Trump taps a longtime agency economist as the next Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner

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President Donald Trump’s monthslong and contentious search for a new commissioner to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics may be ending.

On a Truth Social post on Friday, Trump announced that he intends to nominate Brett Matsumoto, a longtime agency economist, to lead the BLS.

The BLS commissioner role has been vacant since August, when Trump fired Erika McEntarfer after the release of a jobs report showing weak employment growth. Trump alleged, without providing evidence, that the data had been politically manipulated. The allegation and removal have since undermined public trust in one of the federal government’s most closely watched statistical agencies, which is supposed to remain nonpartisan.

The agency has roughly 2,000 employees, and the commissioner is its only appointed position. The commissioner’s role carries a four-year term and requires Senate confirmation.

Before Matsumoto, the White House previously nominated EJ Antoni, a Heritage Foundation economist, for the job, but later withdrew the nomination after it became clear Antoni lacked sufficient support for Senate confirmation.

Who is Brett Matsumoto?

Matsumoto is a career economist with deep ties to the agency he would lead if confirmed.

Based on Matsumoto’s LinkedIn profile, he earned undergraduate and master’s degrees at the University of Delaware before earning his doctorate in economics from the University of North Carolina in 2015. Since then, he has been working at the BLA as a supervisory research economist. Multiple academic papers under his name can be found covering issues such as consumer expenditure and inflation measurement. Over the past year, he has been on assignment at the Council of Economic Advisers.

Matsumoto is not very active on social media. A Facebook account under his name shows that his profile picture used to be a photo with Ivanka Trump back in August 2020. His most recent profile photo features him alongside a tabby cat.

In a post on Truth Social late Friday, Trump said he was confident Matsumoto had the expertise to “QUICKLY fix the long history of issues at the BLS on behalf of the American People.”

Several economists posted online that they believe Matsumoto could be the right choice.

Claudia Sahm, Chief Economist at New Century Advisors, posted on X that Matsumoto is an “excellent choice” for the commissioner position.

Skanda Amarnath, Executive Director of Employ America, echoed the sentiment on X and said that Matsumoto is “a very thoughtful person who understands the nuts and bolts of data measurement and estimation.”




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America’s largest labor movement calls for ICE to leave Minnesota before ‘anyone else is hurt or killed’

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America’s largest network of labor unions has condemned ICE after a federal agent on Saturday shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident.

The AFL-CIO, which represents nearly 15 million workers, called Pretti’s death “senseless.”

“As tens of thousands of Minnesotans made clear peacefully and powerfully yesterday, the Trump administration’s horrific operation — and their actions aimed at stoking violence and chaos — must end,” the labor group said in a statement.

“America’s unions join the call for ICE to immediately leave Minnesota before anyone else is hurt or killed. We demand local authorities conduct a full, transparent investigation that will lead to accountability for this tragic and violent act, and for Congress to use its power to hold ICE accountable.”


Alex Pretti of Minneapolis

Residents mourned Alex Pretti, who was killed by a federal agent in Minneapolis on Saturday.

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A federal agent fatally shot Pretti in Minneapolis, where he worked as an ICU nurse at a US Department of Veterans Affairs hospital. Minneapolis police confirmed on Saturday that Pretti is a US citizen. He had been filming the agents when the confrontation began.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Border Patrol and ICE, said Pretti was carrying a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun and “approached” agents at the scene. The department said officers tried to disarm Pretti, but he resisted. In multiple videos of the incident, however, Pretti is never seen threatening agents and is disarmed and subdued before he is shot. Minneapolis police said Pretti had a permit to carry the weapon.

The DHS deployed ICE and other federal agents to Minnesota as part of an immigration enforcement sweep called Operation Metro Surge, which began in December. The department says it has deployed around 2,000 federal agents across the state to detain and deport illegal immigrants. Trump has made securing the border and deporting those in the US who lack proper paperwork a central part of his administration’s agenda.

Local residents and business owners, however, have criticized the tactics federal agents are using to find and detain those people, resulting in protests across the state. Tensions further escalated after an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good, a 37-year-old American citizen, on January 7.

The CEOs of Minnesota’s largest businesses, including Target, Cargill, Allianz, and UnitedHealth, called for “immediate de-escalation” in a joint statement on Sunday.


Protests against ICE in Minnesota

A federal agent shot and killed Renee Good in Minneapolis on January 7.

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On Saturday, Minnesota AFL-CIO President Bernie Burnham shared a statement calling for a “full and transparent investigation” into the recent shootings.

“‘Operation Metro Surge’ is not and has never been about enforcing immigration law. This is about a President who is angry with the people of Minnesota for disagreeing with his policies and is weaponizing the federal government against us in retribution,” Burnham said.

The American Federation of Government Employees, a union representing Pretti and other federal workers in the US, also criticized the Trump administration in a statement on Saturday. As an employee of the VA hospital, Pretti was a member of AFGE Local 3669.

“While details of the incident are still emerging, one fact is already clear: this tragedy did not happen in a vacuum. It is the direct result of an administration that has chosen reckless policy, inflammatory rhetoric, and manufactured crisis over responsible leadership and de-escalation,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in the statement.

Kelley said the presence of federal agents has stoked fear and division in the community.

“I urge everyone to remain disciplined and measured in public, even as we are rightly angry. Still, we must do what we can to maintain peace and calm,” Kelley said. “But do not mistake restraint for acceptance. Accountability will come, and AFGE will not be silent about the policies and decisions that led us here.”




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America’s largest labor movement joins the fight against ICE

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The AFL-CIO, the country’s largest network of labor unions representing some 15 million workers, says ICE is a threat to workers.

“The Trump administration’s militarized immigration enforcement is putting innocent working people in danger,” the AFL-CIO said in a post on X on Saturday. “America’s unions have your backs.”

A group of local unions in Minnesota, meanwhile, has endorsed a planned statewide economic blackout in response to ICE actions in the state.

The Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, which is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, first announced its endorsement alongside other regional bodies on Friday.

“The Minnesota labor movement is united against the violent ICE occupation of our beloved cities that has directly impacted union members, our workplaces and our families,” the group said in a press release.

Dozens of community, faith, and union groups are organizing the Day of Truth and Freedom, a call to action asking Minnesotans to avoid work, school, and shopping on January 23 to pause the economy. There will also be a rally and march in downtown Minneapolis at 2 p.m. local time.

“We will gather with family, neighbors, and community to show Minnesota’s moral heart and economic power,” organizers said in a Facebook post.

Organizers listed several demands, including that ICE leave Minnesota and that federal funding for ICE be scrapped in the upcoming congressional budget.

The Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation told Business Insider that ICE’s presence is disrupting residents’ daily lives.

“Working people from across sectors — hospitality, healthcare, education, custodial, construction, public works — are being targeted,” the group said in a statement.

Thousands of ICE officers have descended on Minnesota as part of Operation Metro Surge, launched on December 1. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a press release earlier this month that the operation was targeting criminal activity among immigrants in the state.

“Under President Trump, we will expose and deliver accountability for the rampant fraud and criminality happening in Minnesota. You won’t steal from Americans or break our laws and get away with it,” she said.

The Trump administration has said it is specifically targeting cities like Minneapolis that have passed so-called “sanctuary” laws that prevent city resources and police from supporting federal immigration agents.

Many residents, meanwhile, have criticized the tactics that federal agents are using to locate and detain individuals.

Tensions in the state skyrocketed after ICE officer Jonathan Ross fatally shot Renee Good, a 37-year-old American citizen from Minneapolis, on January 7, leading to a wave of protests and outcry.

Days later, Minnesota’s attorney general — on behalf of Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the state — filed a lawsuit against Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, seeking to end the operation.

“As a result of this surge, municipalities have been forced to divert local law enforcement resources away from their normal public safety duties, emergency responder resources have been strained, schools have been forced into lockdowns and closures, businesses have been forced to close, and the rights of Minnesotans have been violated time and time again,” a press release from the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office said.

Homeland Security said officers have arrested over 2,500 individuals during Operation Metro Surge so far.




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Shein faces Texas probe into materials, labor, and data privacy

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Texas has launched a probe into Shein, accusing it of selling unsafe, toxic products to US consumers.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a Monday news release that his office was investigating the fast-fashion giant for potential violations of Texas law, “related to unethical labor practices and the sale of unsafe consumer products.”

Paxton referenced Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” campaign in the release, saying that safe and non-toxic products were a key ingredient in the movement.

“Any company that cuts corners on labor standards or product safety, especially those operating in foreign nations like China, will be held accountable,” Paxton said in the release.

Shein is headquartered in Singapore and sources many of its products from China.

“Texans deserve to know that the companies they buy from are ethical, safe, transparent, and not exploiting workers or selling harmful products. I will not allow cheap, dangerous, foreign goods to flood America and jeopardize our health,” Paxton said.

The release said that the investigation will also examine Shein’s data collection and privacy practices.

Representatives for Shein did not respond to a request for comment about the Texas investigation from Business Insider.

This is the latest setback that Shein is facing in the US, its largest market.

Since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, his administration has cracked down on the de minimis trade loophole, which previously allowed low-cost parcels to enter the country tax-free. Shein said in April that it would raise prices to account for higher operating expenses, a result of changes in trade laws.

Paxton, who is running for Senate in 2026, is not the first government official globally to launch a probe into Shein.

South Korean health officials raised concerns several times last year about Shein’s products containing toxic substances above legal limits. In response to the probes, Shein told Singaporean outlet The Straits Times in June 2024 that it had removed the offending products from its catalogue.

In May, the European Commission said it had investigated Shein’s practices and found that the company had breached EU law by offering fake discounts, using deceptive product labels, and making misleading sustainability claims.

Shein also came under fire in France in early November for selling childlike sex dolls and illegal weapons on its third-party marketplace in the country, per a Reuters report. France suspended the marketplace shortly after.

The European Commission said on Wednesday that it had sent a request to Shein to provide evidence that it would not expose minors to inappropriate content and that it would prevent the circulation of illegal products.

A Shein spokesperson told Politico that the company had received the request and was “working to promptly address it.”




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