Director of the Census Bureau Steven Dillingham announced his resignation Monday, according to a statement.
“Effective January 20, 2021, I will be retiring from my position as director of the U.S. Census Bureau. I have a smile on my face and gratitude in my heart for all you have done for our Nation,” Dillingham wrote in a statement Monday.
Census Bureau director Steven Dillingham says he’s stepping down. Dillingham has faced criticism over efforts to produce data sought by President Trump on the number of people in the U.S. illegally. https://t.co/u2WQcxjiGZ
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 18, 2021
Dillingam will stay until President-elect Joe Biden’s Inauguration on Jan. 20. His term was set to go until the end of 2021 under federal law, according to the New York Times.
Several Democratic Congressman called for his resignation, Politico reported. A memo written by the Commerce Department Office of Inspector General surfaced last week accusing Dillingham of rushing a report on numbers of unauthorized immigrants in each state, according to Politico.
Dillingham responded to the memo with a letter posted to the Census Bureau’s website and ordered the staff to “stand down.” (RELATED: Trump Appointees Pressure Census Bureau For Statistics On Illegal Immigrants)
Dillingham also addressed the allegations in a final blog post on for the Census Bureau.
“This past week, strongly worded questions were submitted to me by the Inspector General (IG) regarding a data request to career Census Bureau analysts by one or two Administration appointees assigned to the Census Bureau. The request was for certain administrative data to improve estimates of population categories. Contrary to published comments and reports, the data recently requested was not an attempt to release 2020 census data results for apportionment early.”
He said that although Biden’s transition team has asked him to stay on, he plans to retire, “hoping for some personal time for other matters, given that I have not had a vacation in more than two years.”
Dillingham thanked Biden, several Congressman, and “all state and local officials, thousands of complete count committees, businesses, non-profits, educators, religious leaders, and millions of others who supported the 2020 Census.”