By Jasper Ward and Christian Martinez

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The White House has sent paperwork to the Senate to withdraw the nomination of E.J. Antoni as head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, CNN reported on Tuesday, citing three sources.

President Donald Trump nominated Antoni last month to serve in the role after firing the agency’s head, Erika McEntarfe, and accusing her without evidence of manipulating the bureau’s figures.

The White House did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment from Reuters.

Antoni currently serves as chief economist at the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation and has been a critic of the BLS, whose monthly job market and inflation report is used by a global audience of economists, investors, business leaders, public policymakers

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