Trump’s controversial pick to head the Bureau of Labor Statistics once attended — then left — a Catholic seminary in Montco
EJ Antoni attended Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary for six years before discerning out, meaning he likely realized priesthood was not the right path for him.
President Donald Trump’s controversial pick to lead the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) studied theology at a Catholic seminary in the Philadelphia area more than a decade ago but ultimately did not pursue ordination as a priest.
Erwin J. “EJ” Antoni III was tapped by the president to lead the BLS, the federal agency tasked with tracking job numbers, following the ouster of the previous commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, after Trump baselessly accused her of manipulating job statistics for political reasons following a dismal jobs report.
Antoni would come to the role after a three-year stint at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank responsible for creating Project 2025, a proposed blueprint that called for the total overhaul of the federal government under Trump. His nomination requires U.S. Senate approval.
He has local roots: He reportedly lived on White Pine Drive in Montgomery Township and attended Lansdale Catholic High School from 2002 to 2006. He then went on to enroll in St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in 2006, earning a Bachelor of Arts in 2010. The seminary moved from Lower Merion Township to Ambler last year.
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement that “Antoni’s education and vast experience as an economist” have prepared him to lead the BLS. In addition to his religious studies, he received his master’s and doctorate in economics from Northern Illinois University.
A spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, which has jurisdiction over the seminary, said Antoni received his BA in 2010, but was enrolled until 2012. He “discerned” out of the seminary while in the graduate-level School of Theological Studies for unknown reasons. Typically, discerning out means a seminarian has realized that priesthood is not the right path for him.
A student with a high school diploma or some college experience would complete his studies in both the undergraduate school and the School of Theological Studies, the spokesperson said.
“He did not complete the entire program through to Ordination to the Priesthood,” the spokesperson said in a statement, noting that “over the last 25 years, 55% of the men who were enrolled in the program discerned out of the Seminary.”
According to the seminary’s website, the institution’s main goal is ”the preparation and education of Catholic men who are discerning a call to the Ministerial Priesthood — forming missionary disciples who become shepherds after the Heart of Jesus Christ.” The seminary offers a four-year academic program where students can earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy within a “broad based program of the Classical Liberal Arts.”
Lansdale Catholic High School did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Antoni’s time there.
The BLS is a strictly fact-based agency focused on publishing and reporting employment and inflation numbers.
But economists across the political spectrum have expressed concern over Antoni’s nomination, fearing he will politicize the agency.
Trump wrote in a Truth Social post last week that Antoni is a “Highly Respected Economist” who will ensure “the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE.”
Antoni is a vocal Trump supporter and has criticized the agency in the past, calling McEntarfer “incompetent” on a recent episode of Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast. Antoni has also previously suggested scrapping monthly jobs reports in favor of quarterly data.
Antoni was in the crowd during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, NBC News reported. The White House confirmed Antoni’s presence, but said he was a “bystander.”
“These pictures show EJ Antoni, a bystander to the events of Jan. 6, observing and then leaving the Capitol area,” Rogers, the White House spokesperson, said in a statement to NBC News. “EJ was in town for meetings, and it is wrong and defamatory to suggest EJ engaged in anything inappropriate or illegal.”
The Guardian reported that Antoni was walking away from the Capitol before the mob pushed through police lines into the building.
“Unlike the previous Commissioner, Antoni will produce overdue solutions to long-term issues at the Bureau and provide Americans with the accurate data they deserve,” Rogers said in a statement to The Inquirer.
Staff writer Ryan W. Briggs contributed to this article.