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Census Bureau Director Resigns, Effective Inauguration Day

Steven Dillingham’s appointment was slated to continue through the end of 2021, but whistleblowers said political pressure was skewing the bureau’s accuracy.

Steven Dillingham, the director of the U.S. Census Bureau, has resigned after two years, effective the day of the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. His appointment was slated to continue until the end of 2021. Whistleblowers within the agency had complained that President Donald Trump’s political appointees had pressured Dillingham to release its 2020 Census data by Jan. 15, accuracy notwithstanding. Experts had said releasing the numbers by then would mar the accuracy of the numbers due to delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Census Bureau population counts, taken every 10 years, determine congressional apportionments. Dillingham said in a statement, “The reported whistleblower concerns appear to be misunderstandings regarding the planned process for the review and potential postings of data, and the agreed upon need to apply data quality standards.”