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George Cook, who is chief of staff for the economic affairs
undersecretary at the Department of Commerce, which oversees the
Census Bureau, has been performing the duties of bureau director
as of this week, according to an email sent Friday to agency
employees and shared with The Associated Press.
He is also performing the duties of the undersecretary for
economic affairs, according to the email.
“George is eager to see the Census Bureau represent the very
best of American operational and technological prowess, remain a
pillar of our constitutional system by defending the integrity
and accuracy of data, and continue to be a hub for America’s
most accomplished economic, demographic, and statistical experts
to research, train, grow, and serve,” the email said.
Rob Santos, who was appointed the bureau's director by former
Democratic President Joe Biden in 2022, resigned in January
following the swearing-in of Donald Trump to a second term.
Since Santos' departure, the nation's largest statistical agency
has been led on an interim basis by Ron Jarmin, the bureau's
deputy director and chief operating officer.
Trump last month instructed the Commerce Department to have the
Census Bureau start work on a new census that would exclude
immigrants who are in the United States illegally from the head
count that determines political power and federal spending.
Experts have said it would be very difficult to conduct a
mid-decade census because any changes would require alterations
to the Census Act and approval from Congress, which has
oversight responsibilities, and there likely would be a fierce
fight.
The federal law governing the census permits a mid-decade head
count for things like distributing federal funding, but it can’t
be used for apportionment or redistricting and must be done in a
year ending in 5. Additionally, the 14th Amendment says that
“the whole number of persons in each state” are to be counted
for the numbers used for apportionment, and the Census Bureau
has interpreted that to mean anybody residing in the United
States regardless of legal status.
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