By Phil Sparks
You would not have thought that the same week Washington-based media was focused on the firing of FBI Director Comey, the abrupt resignation of Census Bureau Director John Thompson would have garnered much press attention – but it did!
In editorials and news articles, the media decried the Thompson resignation, rightfully so.
Director Thompson’s sudden resignation leaves the Census Bureau leaderless just as Congress has dramatically underfunded the FY 2017 census budget, and as the Trump administration only proposes increasing the bureau’s FY 2018 budget by $30 million.
Let’s hope reality sets in with the Trump administration. As the Washington Post editorial concludes, “the 2020 Census will begin in April of that year – right in the middle of the primary season. The bureau’s troubles pre-date Mr. Trump’s ascension but the census is happening on his watch. If it fails, he will own it.”