Trump’s Census Director To Quit After Trying To Rush Out ‘Indefensible’ Report

Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham, a Trump appointee who wore a “2020 Census” mask while swearing in to testify before a congressional hearing last year, is set to leave on Jan. 20, months before his term ends on Dec. 31.

Andrew Harnik / AP

Updated at 3:40 p.m. ET

The Trump-appointed director of the U.S. Census Bureau is stepping down close to a week after whistleblower complaints about his role in attempting to rush out an incomplete data report about noncitizens became public.

In an internal email announcement on Monday, Steven Dillingham said he is retiring from the bureau on Wednesday, more than 11 months before his term expires at the end of this year, according to a Census Bureau employee who spoke to NPR and asked not to be named for fear of retaliation at work.