Updated September 19, 2025 at 16:45 PM ET

The Trump administration has put in place a new acting director of the U.S. Census Bureau, NPR has learned.

George Cook, an official at the Commerce Department, was named the bureau's leader as of Wednesday, according to three bureau employees who received a staff announcement Friday and asked NPR not to name them because they are not authorized to speak to the press.

The press office for the bureau redirected NPR's inquiry to the Commerce Department, which, along with the White House, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cook becomes the latest Trump administration official to have multiple jobs , as he is also serving as the Commerce Department's acting undersecretary for economic affairs — a position that oversees the bure

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