MI2 Partners Thoughts From The Divide: “An offshore appropriation”
Aug 15, 2025
Last week (“TFTD: Personnel is Policy”), we discussed whether the Trump administration was looking to correct the unforced error of Trump’s first term by focusing on placing Trump sympathizers in as many key public sector positions as possible. With this in mind, the appointment of EJ Antoni to the BLS is instructive, because of Antoni’s association with the Heritage Foundation. “Within hours of Trump’s announcement, economists from across the political spectrum were questioning whether the nominee’s résumé, record, and recent remarks pointed to a commitment to the data — or to the person who appointed him.” Criticism of Antoni’s appointment as partisan misses the point: his appointment IS partisan and reflects the MAGA conviction that the US establishment is equally partisan in their opposition to Trump’s policies, which is why stories like this miss the mark. Antoni’s prime qualification is that he is a Trump loyalist, and Trump won the election. It’s hard to be surprised that he appoints his supporters or that WH policy might involve appointing as many Trump supporters as possible. In fact, while Susie Wiles has been very clear in disavowing Project 2025, one might question whether Wiles was being entirely honest.