NATHANIEL COGLEY

July 17, 2020

In a terse statement on 23 June, Census Director Steven Dillingham said Cogley would “help the Census Bureau achieve a complete and accurate 2020 Census and study future improvements.” But researchers note that nothing in Cogley’s resume—including 2 years at a fledgling English-speaking university in West Africa—suggests he has any expertise on the policy issues facing the agency.

The Census Bureau declined to make Cogley available to ScienceInsider to discuss his new responsibilities and how he came to work at the agency. But observers note his background includes frequent media appearances in the past year in which he voiced support for President Donald Trump and criticized Democrats for trying to remove him from office. And former colleagues say they aren’t surprised Cogley jumped at the chance to work for the Trump administration.

TRUMP APPOINTEES PRESSURE CENSUS FOR REPORT ON UNDOCUMENTED

January 13, 2021

U.S. Census Bureau statisticians are under significant pressure from Trump political appointees to figure out who in the U.S. is in the country illegally, and they’re worried that any such report they produce in the waning days of the Trump administration will be inaccurate, according to the bureau’s watchdog agency.

“Bureau officials are concerned that incomplete data could be misinterpreted, misused, or otherwise tarnish the Bureau’s reputation,” said Inspector General Peggy Gustafson in the memo to Dillingham.

CENSUS BUREAU SAYS IT WILL STOP TRYING TO DELIVER TALLY OF UNDOCUMENTED TO TRUMP

The statement came a day after the Commerce Department’s Office of Inspector General sent a letter outlining reports from whistleblowers who said Trump appointees in the bureau have been making a last-ditch push to produce the tallies before the president leaves office next week.

The letter said the two political appointees who employees said were pressuring them, Nathaniel Cogley and Benjamin Overholt, would be leaving the bureau in coming days.

January 14, 2021

TRUMP’S FINAL ATTEMPT TO SABOTAGE THE CENSUS HAS OFFICIALLY FAILED

The Census Bureau blew past the Dec. 31 deadline for the apportionment data. Its director—Steven Dillingham, a Trump appointee—then tried to rush out the information before Jan. 20. Dillingham reportedly called this report the bureau’s “number one priority,” and deputy directors Nathaniel Cogley and Benjamin Overholt—both Trump appointees—pushed career employees to produce Trump’s report before the inauguration.