Trump Ally Highlights Fragile US Economy Amid Iran War, Says It Can't Handle $100-A-Barrel Oil Shock

Last Updated:March 19, 2026, 10:27 IST

Antoni's remarks on the health of the United States economy came after the director of the US National Counterterrorism Center resigned in protest over the Iran war.

EJ Antoni, once selected by Donald Trump to head the Bureau of Labor Statistics, has warned that the US economy is too fragile to cope with oil prices reaching $100 per barrel, citing concerns over inflation driven by the conflict in Iran.

“I don’t think this is an economy that can handle $100-a-barrel oil—it just can’t," Antoni told the Financial Times.

He added that the economy appears weaker and inflation is worse than we thought it was. Speaking on Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s March meeting on interest rates, Antoni noted that lower energy costs in 2025 had helped ease overall price pressures.

However, he cautioned that rising energy prices are likely to reverse that trend, pushing inflation higher across the economy.

Antoni, currently chief economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation, was nominated by Trump in August to lead the labor statistics agency after the President dismissed the previous commissioner over a jobs report he criticised as “rigged".

Trump abruptly withdrew Antoni’s nomination a month later and ultimately settled on government economist Brett Matsumoto, whose confirmation is subject to Senate approval.

Antoni’s remarks on the health of the United States economy came after the director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, resigned in protest over the Iran war.

Meanwhile, Republicans are increasingly worried that the escalating oil prices — Brent crude jumped 5 per cent to almost $110 a barrel on Wednesday — will dent their chances in the midterm elections.

As per Financial Times, Petrol prices at the pump have surged to $3.84 a gallon from $2.92 a month ago, while diesel has exceeded $5 — exerting a heavy toll on US consumers and businesses.

Recent economic data gathered before the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran has done little to calm those worries.

US GDP growth for the fourth quarter of 2025 was revised down last week to 0.7% from an initial estimate of 1.4%. Meanwhile, figures released on Wednesday showed wholesale prices rose faster than expected in February—even before the conflict began.

The labor market has also weakened, with the US economy losing 92,000 jobs last month, wiping out most of January’s gains.

Antoni highlighted “a lack of job growth" in the US, some of which he attributed to last year’s cuts to the federal workforce, and renewed his attacks on the BLS, which he likened to “a random number generator" in a post on X last May.

“You need a complete, top-down review of everything—from how data is collected to how it’s processed and released," he said, adding that there have been concerns about data leaks.

News world Trump Ally Highlights Fragile US Economy Amid Iran War, Says It Can't Handle $100-A-Barrel Oil Shock

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