Thread by @hansilowang

BREAKING: Trump's Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham is stepping down on Jan. 20, months before the end of his term, after whistleblowers complained he was pushing for "statistically indefensible" data.

My report (confirming @Tierney_Megan scoop):
npr.org/2021/01/18/957…

@Tierney_Megan 2. The Census Bureau's has posted Dillingham's email announcing his Jan. 20 departure here:
census.gov/newsroom/blogs…

@Tierney_Megan 3. Dillingham says in a blog post on Census Bureau's website that an unnamed Biden transition official asked him to continue serving as director "during & after the transition." Request's timing is not clear. I've reached out to the Biden team for comment.
census.gov/newsroom/blogs…

@Tierney_Megan 4. This month, whistleblowers at the Census Bureau reported to @CommerceOIG that Dillingham attempted to pressure career employees to make a technical data report about "documented & undocumented persons" a "number one priority" to be produced by Jan. 15:
npr.org/2021/01/12/956…

@Tierney_Megan @CommerceOIG 5. Census Bureau's current Deputy Director & COO @jarmin_ron, a career civil servant, will become acting director after Dillingham leaves at noon ET on Jan. 20, bureau's chief spokesperson Michael Cook tells me. Jarmin served in the same the role before Dillingham's appointment.

@Tierney_Megan @CommerceOIG @jarmin_ron 6. Dillingham's blog post says the request for the data report on noncitizens came "approximately 10 days prior to this week's scheduled presidential transition" on Jan. 20. Not clear where the request came from. Report would have shown a column of "state numbers (or estimates)."

@Tierney_Megan @CommerceOIG @jarmin_ron 7. Dillingham suggests "whistleblower concerns appear to be misunderstandings regarding the planned process for the review and potential postings of data, and the agreed upon need to apply data quality standards."

Btw, @CommerceOIG hasn't announced the end of its investigation.

@Tierney_Megan @CommerceOIG @jarmin_ron 8. @ArturoNALEO, a leading census advocate with @NALEO, calls on the Biden administration to "quickly" nominate a new permanent director for the Census Bureau to provide "competent, ethical leadership committed to the scientific integrity" of the bureau.

@Tierney_Megan @CommerceOIG @jarmin_ron @ArturoNALEO @NALEO 9. A member of the House appropriations subcommittee that funds the census, Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), reacts to Steven Dillingham leaving the Census Bureau:

https://twitter.com/RepGraceMeng/status/1351278522900295681

@Tierney_Megan @CommerceOIG @jarmin_ron @ArturoNALEO @NALEO 10. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus reacts to Steven Dillingham leaving the Census Bureau:

https://twitter.com/HispanicCaucus/status/1351253445379031041?s=20

@Tierney_Megan @CommerceOIG @jarmin_ron @ArturoNALEO @NALEO 11. Departing Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham's new blog post raises a lot of questions about his role in this technical report request that would have apparently produced state numbers/estimates of noncitizens, including unauthorized immigrants.
census.gov/newsroom/blogs…

@Tierney_Megan @CommerceOIG @jarmin_ron @ArturoNALEO @NALEO 12. Who initiated the “latest request to examine relevant Census administrative data” that “came approximately ten days prior to this week’s scheduled presidential transition,” according to Dillingham's blog post?

@Tierney_Megan @CommerceOIG @jarmin_ron @ArturoNALEO @NALEO 13. By “approximately ten days prior to this week’s scheduled presidential transition,” is Dillingham's blog post referring to Jan. 10? If so, why did Dillingham not say something like "on or about Jan. 10"?

@Tierney_Megan @CommerceOIG @jarmin_ron @ArturoNALEO @NALEO 14. How did Dillingham become aware of this requested data review?

And who explained to Dillingham that the "intent" was "for potential completion of a column in a short data table, relying on newly acquired administrative data to supplement and improve estimates”?

@Tierney_Megan @CommerceOIG @jarmin_ron @ArturoNALEO @NALEO 15. Was the requested data review intended to improve "estimates of unauthorized non-citizen U.S. residents" generated by researchers at Yale University, Pew Research Center and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security? If not, why did Dillingham mention these researchers?

@Tierney_Megan @CommerceOIG @jarmin_ron @ArturoNALEO @NALEO 16. Who described to Dillingham that the “envisioned data tabulation” would be “a single column of state numbers (or estimates) a page or two in length”?

@Tierney_Megan @CommerceOIG @jarmin_ron @ArturoNALEO @NALEO 17. Who informed Dillingham that the “data review and any potential publication of summary numbers or estimates would comply with quality standards used by the Bureau in producing ‘technical reports’ “?

@Tierney_Megan @CommerceOIG @jarmin_ron @ArturoNALEO @NALEO 18. Chair of @OversightDems, @RepMaloney (D-N.Y.), reacts to Steven Dillingham leaving the Census Bureau

https://twitter.com/CarolynBMaloney/status/1351325833449897989

@Tierney_Megan @CommerceOIG @jarmin_ron @ArturoNALEO @NALEO @OversightDems @RepMaloney 19. A member of House @OversightDems, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), reacts to Steven Dillingham leaving the Census Bureau

https://twitter.com/GerryConnolly/status/1351344455975116800