Trump appointee George Cook named acting Census Bureau head amid push for new census
Cook takes interim leadership as White House presses to pursue a census that would exclude immigrants in the U.S. illegally from the count used for political power and federal funding
A Trump appointee has been named acting director of the U.S. Census Bureau, replacing the career economist who has led the agency in an interim capacity since the previous director left earlier this year.
George Cook, who is chief of staff for the Commerce Department’s undersecretary for economic affairs—the office that oversees the Census Bureau—has been performing the duties of bureau director this week, according to an email sent 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.
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. The move signals a potential bid to reshape how population data are used in federal calculations, a prospect that has drawn uncertainty from researchers and lawmakers alike.
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. There likely would be a fierce fight over changes to how the population is counted midway through a decade. The law governing the census permits a mid-decade head count for distributing federal funding, but it cannot be used for apportionment or redistricting and must be conducted 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 anyone residing in the United States regardless of legal status.
The development underscores ongoing, high-stakes debate over how the government counts the population and allocates federal resources, a core function of the Census Bureau that intersects with political power, funding, and policy priorities in Washington.