Sen. Warren probes interference concerns at Census Bureau : NPR

Key Points:

• Senator Elizabeth Warren has demanded explanations from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other officials regarding the removal of language banning political interference from the Census Bureau's scientific integrity policy.
• The policy change, made on August 19, followed the release of a controversial document linked to the America First Policy Institute, which has been criticized for questionable claims about non-U.S. citizen voting.
• The Trump administration has also made other contentious decisions affecting census data, including banning a longstanding data privacy technique and proposing to exclude certain non-U.S. citizens from population counts used for congressional representation.
• Warren warned that these changes could undermine the reliability of economic and demographic data, impact redistricting, monetary policy, and civil rights enforcement, and is investigating the role of the Office of Management and Budget in the decision.
• The Federal Reserve has acknowledged Warren's inquiry and plans to respond, while the Commerce Department and OMB have not yet commented on the issue.