The Census Bureau is currently headed by a political appointee who is not a statistical expert.
Posted by Platypus Economics with Justin Wolfers, Checked
- Sources
- 2 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 60%
Platypus Economics with Justin WolfersAug 28, 2026
Sources show George Cook, a Trump political appointee (chief of staff to the Commerce undersecretary for economic affairs), has performed the duties of Census Bureau director since September 2025, which supports the claim that the bureau is headed by a political appointee as of 2026-08-28.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… The last one resigned, and they haven't appointed anyone. And if you don't appoint anyone, you don't need to go through Senate confirmation. So they put a partisan hack who is not a statistical expert but is a political appointee in charge of the Census Bureau, and so that's the end run around the Senate, which is the White House now runs the Census Bureau. Now, there's another layer of protection, which is our public servants are good and serious people who have and particularly our statisticians, they're …
Platypus Economics with Justin Wolfers · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. George Cook, described as a Trump appointee and chief of staff for the Commerce undersecretary for economic affairs, took over performing the duties of Census Bureau director in September 2025 after a career economist was replaced.[2][3]
Context. The CRS product states that Cook began performing the director's duties in September 2025 following Robert Santos's February 2025 resignation, and that the statute calls for appointees with management and statistical experience.[1]
Context. No source addresses George Cook's statistical credentials; the CBPP report's criticism of lacking qualifications concerns the BLS nominee E.J. Antoni, not Cook, so this element is unaddressed rather than contradicted.[2]
Sources
3 sources: 1 primary, 2 not rated
- 1The Census Bureau Directorcongress.gov · primary source · cited for: context
- 2Federal Data Are Disappearing as Statistical Agencies ...cbpp.org · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 3Trump appointee George Cook takes interim lead at Census Bureausandiegouniontribune.com · not rated · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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