Trump officials cut political interference ban after unusual Census Bureau report
The U.S. Commerce Department has quietly removed language banning political interference from its scientific integrity policy. This change follows a controversial Census Bureau report on non-citizen voting and raises concerns about the independence of federal statistical agencies ahead of the 2030 census.
Why it matters
The integrity of federal data is critical for fair political representation and the allocation of federal funding, making any perceived politicization of these agencies a significant democratic concern.
The reliability of Census Bureau information during the Trump administration is coming under question again.
This month, the bureau's parent agency, the Commerce Department, quietly cut language banning political interference from the department's scientific integrity policy , NPR has learned.
The removal was part of an unannounced policy revision dated Aug. 19 — the day after the bureau issued a highly unusual report with claims about non-U.S. citizen voting from a team that, as NPR previously reported , has ties to a think tank founded by officials from President Trump's first administration.
The revised scientific integrity policy applies to all agencies under the Commerce Department, including the weather data-providing National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Bureau of Economic Analysis that's known for tracking the country's gross domestic product.
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