A Trump-appointed official has been selected as the interim leader of the U.S. Census Bureau, temporarily replacing a seasoned economist, amidst calls by the Republican president for a revised census excluding those in the U.S. unlawfully.

George Cook, who serves as chief of staff to the economic affairs undersecretary at the Department of Commerce, which the Census Bureau falls under, has assumed the responsibilities of bureau director this week, according to an email shared with employees and reported by The Associated Press.

He is also performing the duties of the undersecretary for economic affairs, according to the email.

The email stated, “George is committed to ensuring that the Census Bureau exemplifies the pinnacle of American operational and technological excellence, upholds the integrity and precision of data as a cornerstone of our constitutional framework, and maintains its role as a hub for the nation’s top economic, demographic, and statistical specialists to conduct research, train, advance, and contribute.”

Rob Santos, who was named as the bureau’s director by former Democratic President Joe Biden in 2022, stepped down in January following Donald Trump’s assumption of a second term. In the interim since Santos’ exit, the largest statistical agency in the nation has been managed by Ron Jarmin, the deputy director and chief operating officer of the bureau.

Last month, Trump directed the Commerce Department to work on a new census effort that would exclude unauthorized immigrants from the population count used to allocate political representation and federal resources.

According to experts, conducting a census mid-decade poses substantial challenges, as it would necessitate changes to the Census Act and require congressional approval, also sparking likely intense opposition.

The federal law governing the census permits a mid-decade head count for things like distributing federal funding, but it can’t be used for apportionment or redistricting and must be done in a year ending in 5. Additionally, the 14th Amendment says that “the whole number of persons in each state” are to be counted for the numbers used for apportionment, and the Census Bureau has interpreted that to mean anybody residing in the United States regardless of legal status.

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