Santos Resigns as Census Bureau Head

Robert Santos has announced his resignation as Director of the U.S. Census Bureau, two years short of completing his five-year term.

Veteran survey statistician Santos was the choice of Joe Biden to lead the Bureau, also endorsed by the Insights Association (IA), and replaced Dr Steven Dillingham, President Trump's nominee during his first administration, who had also served for three years. Santos' departure leaves the returning President free to nominate his own candidate at a time when the Bureau is planning for the 2030 survey. The Census is used to redraw voting districts and to allocate federal funding over the following decade, and earlier this year DRNO reported that a bill to add a citizenship question - a feature of the first Trump Presidency which never reached the statute book - had once again been introduced in the House.

Santos, the first Latino to hold the office, joined from the Urban Institute where he was VP and Chief Methodologist, and worked previously at the University of Michigan Survey Research Center and at NORC. He is a past President of the American Statistical Association, and of AAPOR. He announced his decision to leave the Bureau this week in an email sent to members of the 2030 Census Advisory Committee, and said he was 'humbled and honored to have been the director of this most amazing federal statistical agency'. During his term in office, Santos said public engagement had been a priority, alongside 'building generational trust across communities and tribal nations'.

Census Project Co-Director Mary Jo Mitchell praised the outgoing Director for being 'an inspiring leader who has earned the respect of census stakeholders and data users nationwide', adding: 'He will be missed and remembered fondly for leading transformative efforts at the Bureau to improve data quality and accessibility'.

Web site: www.census.gov .