Robert Santos, who prioritized inclusivity and engagement with marginalized communities, has announced his resignation as the director of the U.S. Census Bureau, leaving his position halfway through a five-year term and in the midst of preparations for the 2030 census. This upcoming census is crucial as it will influence political representation and the allocation of federal funding across the United States for the next decade.
Santos, appointed by former President Joe Biden, shared in a letter on Thursday that his decision followed significant contemplation. He became the bureau’s 26th director and its first Hispanic leader in 2022.
His resignation opens the door for the current Republican administration to alter the agency’s leadership, especially as GOP members in Congress and Republican state attorneys general are intensifying efforts to exclude undocumented individuals from census counts that are essential for determining congressional representation and Electoral College votes for each state.
A Republican expert in redistricting highlighted that relying on the citizen voting-age population instead of the total population for redistricting purposes could yield benefits for Republican candidates and non-Hispanic white individuals. The census data is also vital for distributing approximately $2.8 trillion in federal funds among states, catering to various sectors such as infrastructure, healthcare, and numerous federal programs.
Civil rights organizations have called for the appointment of a nonpartisan leader to direct the U.S. Census Bureau, emphasizing the necessity for integrity within the agency. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights issued a statement underlining the importance of ensuring that data collection and reporting are conducted transparently and equitably, free from political bias.
Currently, alongside the planning for the 2030 census, Santos and his team are working on updates for the census questionnaires, including changes regarding sexual orientation and gender identity, in addition to race and ethnicity. For the first time, questions related to sexual orientation and gender identity were scheduled to be included in the 2027 American Community Survey. Moreover, the bureau is implementing a Biden administration initiative aimed at merging race and ethnicity inquiries while introducing a new category for Middle Eastern and North African identification.
A law passed in 2012 established a five-year tenure for Census Bureau directors to ensure consistent planning efforts for the decennial census. However, the last three directors have all departed before completing their terms, typically coinciding with shifts in presidential administrations.
Historian Margo Anderson remarked that the intent of insulating the census planning process from political influences has evidently failed, noting, “The clock is ticking here.”
During his leadership, Santos focused on rebuilding trust in the Census Bureau, particularly following the controversies surrounding the 2020 census during Trump’s initial term. Many observers felt that the previous administration sought to politicize the census, including the attempt to exclude undocumented residents from the count used for representation.
The 14th Amendment of the Constitution states that “the whole number of persons in each state” must be counted for apportionment purposes. During this week’s confirmation hearing, Howard Lutnick, appointed by Trump as secretary of commerce overseeing the Census Bureau, assured legislators, “I promise you, we will count each whole person. … That’s what the Constitution says, and we will stick right to it rigorously.”
Prior to his role at the Census Bureau, Santos served as a vice president and chief methodologist at the Urban Institute, accumulating four decades of experience in survey research, statistical design, analysis, and executive management. He expressed in his resignation letter that he intends to focus on spending quality time with his family after retirement.
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There was an update indicating that Robert Santos has chosen to resign from his position as director of the U.S. Census Bureau, rather than having already resigned from the agency.
