Hansi Lo Wang (he/him)
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hansilowang.bsky.social
Hansi Lo Wang (he/him)
@hansilowang.bsky.social
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@npr.org correspondent reporting on how elections, the census, the Postal Service and other parts of the U.S. government work • signal: hansi.01 • email: hwang@npr.org • newsletter: hansilowang.com/stay-in-touch
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NEW: The Census Bureau says it's updating its calendar to reschedule data releases delayed by the federal government shutdown
content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USC...
Release Schedule Updates The U.S. Census Bureau today announced updates to its event calendar including 2025 economic indicators that were delayed due to the recent lapse in federal funding. Revised dates include: Construction Spending (Construction Put in Place) August [originally scheduled for 10/1/25] 11/17/25 Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories and Orders (Full Report) August [originally scheduled for 10/2/25] 11/18/25 International Trade in Goods & Services (FT900) August [originally scheduled for 10/7/25] 11/19/25 The Census Bureau will continue updating its event calendar and provide information as soon as it becomes available. For more information on economic indicators, visit our Economic Briefing Room.
November 14, 2025 at 9:35 PM
hansilowang.bsky.social
NEW: The Nevada Supreme Court has revived a state case against six so-called “fake electors” facing felony charges related to efforts to reverse President Trump's 2020 election loss
caseinfo.nvsupremecourt.us/document/vie...
We conclude that venue was properly laid in Clark County because the offenses charged were not complete upon mailing but rather necessarily involved the receipt of the certificates at the location to which they were mailed. Respondents do not dispute that the certificates were delivered to a recipient in Clark County. The district court erred in concluding that the alleged crimes were complete upon mailing from Douglas County. We therefore reverse and remand.
November 14, 2025 at 2:08 AM
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2. Asked for comment on the letter, USPS spokesperson David Coleman said in a statement that USPS is "fully cooperating" with OSHA's investigation into the death of Nicholas John Acker and plans to respond to Reps. Dingell and Tlaib directly
“The Postal Service is deeply saddened by the loss of life suffered recently involving our postal employee. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues at this time. This incident remains under investigation by OSHA, and the Postal Service is fully cooperating. The Postal Service will respond to the elected officials directly. We do not have any further comment at this time.”
November 13, 2025 at 9:49 PM
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NEW: After the death of a US Postal Service maintenance mechanic at a mail distribution center outside Detroit, Democratic Reps. @debbiedingell.house.gov & Rashida Tlaib of Michigan ask Postmaster General David Steiner to respond to these questions by Nov. 27
debbiedingell.house.gov/uploadedfile...
1. When was management made aware of Nicholas’s disappearance, and what actions were taken to locate him? At what time did these actions occur? 2. Did the clock system flag Nicholas for missing his basic clock rings (check in/out and lunch in/out), and if so, when did it flag him? 3. When did management learn of Nicholas’s death, and when was this reported to emergency services? 4. Was the handling machine powered on or off at the time of Nicholas’s death? 5. Why did it take so long to notice Nicholas’s disappearance? 6. How often are workers accounted for during their shifts? After Nicholas checked in at 11am, did he check in or out again? 7. Is there video surveillance or monitoring where Nicholas was working? 8. Did Nicholas have a work sheet, route sheet, or work order for dumper A-17? What time did Nicholas go up to dumper A-17? 9. When was dumper A-17 last serviced, and did it have a history of breaking down? 10. What are the safety protocols for going up on dumper A-17 and when employees are working on dumper A-17, are they alone or partnered up? If they do not have a partner, why do they not have a partner? 11. Have there been any prior accidents with this type of mail handling machine at the NDC or at any other USPS facilities? 12. Are maintenance mechanics trained on how to withdraw fallen mail or packages from machines and what are the safety protocols for withdrawing the fallen mail or packages? 13. Is there a certain time during a shift that maintenance mechanics are supposed to withdraw fallen mail or packages? 14. Is there a briefing where tour 1 and tour 2 maintenance mechanics overlap and give updates on the status of maintenance work completed during the prior shift? 15. Does the NDC keep training records, and if so, when was Nicholas trained on the safety procedures for dumper A-17 and for withdrawing fallen mail and packages from machines? 16. Has management advised workers at the NDC to extract fallen mail and packages while the handling machines are operating? 17. Do the conveyor and dumping machines at the NDC have sensors to halt the system when something, or someone, is impeding the moving parts of the machine? Does the conveyer system have emergency stops? If not, why not? 18. Do the maintenance mechanics have a check-in system with their management when they are working in dangerous spots, such as dumper A-17? 19. Where does the NDC keep their Postal Service Form 1767? It is our understanding that this form is where employees can express their safety concerns and receive a response to their concerns from postal management on the same day. However, we have been informed that when the maintenance mechanics raised concerns using PS1767s, the forms were relocated. Had anyone at the NDC filled out a PS1767 with concerns about dumper A-17, and if so, what was done to address their concerns?
November 13, 2025 at 9:26 PM
hansilowang.bsky.social
NEW: The U.S. Supreme Court is set to discuss on Nov. 21 how it will handle a North Dakota case and a Mississippi case on whether private individuals and groups — whose lawsuits have been the main way of enforcing Voting Rights Act’s Section 2 — can keep suing
Nov 05 2025 DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/21/2025.
November 5, 2025 at 4:16 PM
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NEW: The governing board of the U.S. Postal Service — which generally receives no tax dollars to keep running and relies on stamp and service fees — is set to meet Nov. 14 to discuss fiscal year 2025 finances and elect a chair and vice chair
www.federalregister.gov/public-inspe...
Friday, November 14, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. (Open) 1. Remarks of the Chairwoman of the Board of Governors. 2. Remarks of the Postmaster General and CEO. 3. Approval of the Meeting Minutes. 4. Election of the Chairman. 5. Election of the Vice Chairman. 6. Committee Reports. 7. Financial Matters. a. FY2025 Annual Financial Report. b. FY2025 10K and Financial Statements. c. FY2025 Annual Report to Congress. d. FY2026 Integrated Financial Plan and Liquidity Outlook. e. Authorization to Borrow Money and Issue Obligations. f. FY2027 Congressional Reimbursement Request. 8. Annual Service Performance Report. 9. Approval of Tentative Agenda for the February 5, 2026 Meeting. 10. Adjournment
November 3, 2025 at 9:39 PM
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5. New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin, a Democrat, says the DOJ announcing it's sending federal election monitors to Passaic County is "highly inappropriate" and that state officials are "considering all of our options to prevent any effort to intimidate voters or interfere with our elections"
Our State is committed to ensuring a free, fair, and secure election, and we will not allow anyone to interfere with or disrupt our elections.  The Trump Department of Justice’s announcement that it is sending federal “election monitors” to Passaic County is highly inappropriate, and DOJ has not even attempted to identify a legitimate basis for its actions. The Constitution gives states, not the federal government, the primary responsibility for running elections, and our state’s hardworking elections officials have been preparing for months to run a safe and secure election. We are committed to ensuring that every eligible voter is able to cast their ballot and make their voices heard, and we are considering all of our options to prevent any effort to intimidate voters or interfere with our elections.
October 24, 2025 at 9:24 PM
hansilowang.bsky.social
2. CORRECTION: I deleted this earlier post because it incorrectly said that the Justice Department is planning to monitor six polling sites in California and New Jersey. In fact, the department says it plans to monitor polling sites at six locations in those states.
Screen grab of the deleted post
October 24, 2025 at 4:08 PM
hansilowang.bsky.social
NEW: The Justice Department says it plans to monitor polling sites at six locations in California and New Jersey ahead of the Nov. 4 general election for "transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law"
www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justi...
At this time, the Department will monitor the following jurisdictions: Passaic County, New Jersey Kern County, California Riverside County, California Fresno County, California Orange County, California Los Angeles County, California
October 24, 2025 at 4:08 PM
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NEW: Next year's #2030Census field test, the "2026 Census Test," no longer plans to allow administrators of college dorms and other group-living quarters to review data about the location online before counting starts, according to this Federal Register notice
www.federalregister.gov/public-inspe...
Since the 60-day Federal Register Notice (FRN) on this proposed collection was published, the Census Bureau needed to make a number of changes to GQAC. • The Census Bureau descoped the web-based GQAC for GQ administrators from the 2026 Census Test. The Census Bureau no longer plans to allow GQ administrators to log into a secure web-based GQAC instrument to review, verify, and if needed, update the GQ information, or select a method of data collection in preparation for conducting the upcoming enumeration operations. Instead, Census Bureau office clerks will use the same platform that had been planned for GQ administrators to collect this information. • Emails to GQ administrators for web-based GQAC that were mentioned in the 60-day FRN will no longer be sent. • Also descoped were plans to implement a process to virtually complete the Special Sworn Status form for GQ administrators who select the web-based GQAC. The system to track/maintain completed Special Sworn Status forms (BC-1759) collected during the American Community Survey and other Census Bureau web-based surveys is still in progress because it may be needed during GQE. • The proposed annual burden hours have decreased from the 217 hours as the Census Bureau estimated in the 60-day Federal Register Notice for this information collection to 150 hours. The number of respondents grew from 434 in the 60-day Federal Register notice to 600, but the average time per response was reduced from 30 minutes to 15 minutes when the calling script was updated based on the final GQAC specification following the submission of the 60-day FRN.
October 21, 2025 at 5:51 PM
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4. CLARIFICATION: I deleted this earlier post to avoid implying that administrators of group-living quarters will not be allowed to help collect resident information online after counting begins for the 2026 Census Test. In fact, the notice is about plans for a pre-counting activity.
Screen grab of the deleted post
October 21, 2025 at 5:51 PM
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2. In a Oct. 17 court filing, the Trump administration says a total of 102 employees are affected by this on-hold layoff and the bureau "erroneously sent out notices to six individuals who had recently separated from the agency"
www.courtlistener.com/docket/71502...
The U.S. Census Bureau, which has employees represented by AFGE, issued 108 RIF notices. The actual number of impacted employees is 102, as the U.S. Census Bureau erroneously sent out notices to six individuals who had recently separated from the agency. The PPAs involved are Census Bureau PPAs: (a) Current Surveys and Programs and (b) Periodic Censuses and Programs.
October 17, 2025 at 11:14 PM
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NEW: Supreme Court's no longer set to discuss on Nov. 7 if it will hear North Dakota case on whether private individuals & groups — whose lawsuits have been main way of enforcing Voting Rights Act’s Section 2 — can keep suing. Change comes day after rehearing case on Section 2's constitutionality
Screen grab of the court docket showing: "Oct 08 2025 DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/7/2025. Oct 16 2025 Rescheduled."
October 16, 2025 at 10:20 PM
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2. In another response to post-confirmation hearing questions from Senate Commerce Committee members, Meyer avoids directly answering whether she would refuse to produce inaccurate statistics or data if asked by Trump or Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick:
www.commerce.senate.gov/services/fil...
Question 2: Yes or No: If you were asked to produce inaccurate statistics or data by the Secretary or the President, would you refuse? Answer: The President and Secretary Lutnick would never ask me to produce inaccurate statistics or data. Additionally, the President and Secretary Lutnick have made clear their priority for Americans to have accuracy and integrity in statistics and data. If confirmed, I look forward to carrying out this shared commitment with the teams at BEA and the Census Bureau and I will comply with the law.
October 9, 2025 at 9:47 PM
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NEW: Joyce Meyer, President Trump’s nominee for the next commerce undersecretary to oversee the Census Bureau, avoids directly answering whether non-US citizens can be excluded from what 14th Amendment says must include "whole number of persons in each state"
www.commerce.senate.gov/services/fil...
2. Does the Constitution require that “whole number of persons in each state” be used to apportion Congressional seats? Yes, this text is found in the Fourteenth Amendment, Section 2. 13. Can noncitizens be excluded from Census counts for the purposes of apportioning Congressional seats? The Census Bureau’s important work, including the Decennial Census, focuses on providing high-quality data for a range of users and purposes. If confirmed, my focus will be on supporting the Census Bureau’s commitment to the accuracy and integrity of this data.
October 9, 2025 at 9:47 PM
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NEW: The U.S. Supreme Court is set to discuss on Nov. 7 whether to take up a North Dakota case about whether private individuals and groups — whose lawsuits have been the main way of enforcing the Voting Rights Act’s Section 2 — can continue to sue
www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?...
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/7/2025.
October 8, 2025 at 4:37 PM
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NEW: The Census Bureau says parts of its website are not being updated because of the federal government shutdown and questions from data users will not be answered "until appropriations are enacted"
census.gov Notification Due to the lapse of federal funding, portions of this website are not being updated. Any inquiries submitted via www.census.gov will not be answered until appropriations are enacted.
October 1, 2025 at 7:20 PM
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NEW: In case of a federal government shutdown, the Census Bureau will stop work on economic indicators, the American Community Survey, disaster assistance & recovery data & most #2030Census planning. "2026 Census Test" work would continue until funds are "exhausted"
www.commerce.gov/sites/defaul...
In the event of a lapse in appropriations, the U.S. Census Bureau anticipates that most activities will cease. The agency will have access to balances which will allow minimally necessary operations and activities to ensure the safety and security of data, IT resources, and property. Prior to any lapse in appropriations, an assessment will be performed to determine the level of budget authority available to continue operations. Administrative and information technology infrastructure activities supporting these programs will continue, funded by overheads collected against the funding sources above. The Census Bureau will use carryover balances to continue the activities needed to remain on a critical readiness path for a fully scoped, and on-time 2026 Census Test, a mission critical priority for ensuring 2030 Census operational viability as described throughout this section. If the lapse in appropriations continues for a significant length of time and these funds are exhausted, then most employees working on these activities will be furloughed, consistent with the Contingency Plan described below. The activities that the Census Bureau will not continue include the following: 1. Economic Indicators: U.S. monthly economic indicators would not be available. 2. Disaster Assistance and Recovery: The Census Bureau would be unable to provide updated data to jurisdictions impacted by natural disasters. 3. 2030 Census Planning (Non-Test Activities): All other activities necessary to plan, manage, and prepare for the 2030 Census not directly tied to the 2026 Census Test, including Geographic Support and Frames, will be paused. 4. American Community Survey: Data Collection for the ACS will be discontinued.
September 30, 2025 at 12:56 PM
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Finding Marvel actor Simu Liu in a stock image for a Census Bureau email was not on my census-reporter bingo card...
Screen grab of a Census Bureau email announcing "2024 New Foreign-Born Population by Generation Data Tables" with a stock image photo that has a green circle around the face of Simu Liu, an actor who modeled for stock images before portraying Marvel superhero Shang-Chi on film
September 29, 2025 at 9:44 PM
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BREAKING: Office of Management and Budget extends deadline for federal surveys & forms to comply with revised government standards on racial & ethnic data approved during Biden admin, including new “Middle Eastern or North African” & "Hispanic or Latino” checkboxes
spd15revision.gov/content/spd1...
OMB Announcing Timeline Extensions for SPD 15 Implementation September 26, 2025 The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is extending timelines in its Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity. The provisions of OMB’s most recent updates to its race and ethnicity data standards continue to be in effect. However, through this announcement, OMB is changing two particular dates. The standards require the Chief Financial Officers Act Agencies and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to submit to OMB an Action Plan on Race and Ethnicity Data by September 28, 2025. OMB is extending this deadline to March 28, 2026. The standards require Federal information collections that collect race and ethnicity data to be made consistent with the updated standards as soon as possible, but not later than March 28, 2029. OMB is extending this deadline to September 28, 2029.
September 26, 2025 at 10:10 PM
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2. UPDATE: As of 4:10 p.m. ET, the Census Bureau's notice about changes to its "2026 Census Test" plan is no longer available on the Federal Register's website, which says the agency requested it to be withdrawn. I've reached out to the bureau for comment
www.federalregister.gov/public-inspe...
Editorial Note: An agency letter requesting withdrawal of this document was received after placement on public inspection. The document will remain on public inspection through close of business September 29, 2025. A copy of the agency's withdrawal letter is available for inspection at the Office of the Federal Register.
September 26, 2025 at 8:12 PM
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NEW: The Census Bureau says it plans to test using U.S. Postal Service mail carriers to conduct census interviews at two sites of next year's major field test for the #2030Census. It's also reduced its estimate of "2026 Census Test" participants by about 30%
www.federalregister.gov/public-inspe...
• The Census Bureau reevaluated the number of the HUs and GQs in the 2026 Census Test which reduces the estimated number of respondents and thus causes the total burden hours to be lower. The Census Bureau previously submitted a total of 631,850 respondents and 103,502 hours, but the new totals are 444,150 respondents and 72,180 hours. • The Census Bureau will no longer be conducting a GQE reinterview. • The Census Bureau adjusted the list of form numbers to only include questionnaires and information collection instruments. • In GQE, the Census Bureau will no longer collect information using an in-person interview by field staff or GQ administrator or collecting paper listing. • The Census Bureau is partnering with the United States Postal Service (USPS) to test postal carriers supporting the In-Field Enumeration operation for the 2026 Census Test. The Census Bureau will evaluate and assess the viability of using USPS postal carriers to increase efficiency in various capacities typically performed by temporary Census Bureau field workers. Postal carriers will serve as enumerators in two test site locations.
September 26, 2025 at 1:01 PM
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5. As of 10:25 a.m. ET on Sept. 23, the U.S. federal statistical system's website — statspolicy.gov — lists George Cook, the new acting Census Bureau director installed by the Trump administration, as a member of the government's Intergency Council on Statistical Policy
www.statspolicy.gov/about/
Screen grab of the statspolicy.gov's "About Us" webpage showing the Commerce Department's logo and George Cook's name, followed by "Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census"
September 23, 2025 at 2:27 PM
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3. The bureau’s website says Cook, “worked at Brevan Howard from 2012 to 2017, BlackRock from 2017 to 2024, and briefly began launching Justinian Advisory, a startup economic research firm, before beginning his public service”
www.census.gov/about/leader...
George Cook Performing the Duties of Director, U.S. Census Bureau George Cook is performing the duties of director at the U.S. Census Bureau. Cook also serves as chief of staff in the Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs at the Department of Commerce (DOC) and is performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the under secretary for economic affairs. Prior to joining the DOC, Cook worked as an institutional investor and economic analyst, managing portfolios of global government bonds, interest rates and currencies while conducting in-depth research on economic and policy developments to support investment positions. He extensively used Census Bureau data, developing a deep familiarity with and appreciation for the Census Bureau’s work and products. He is honored by the opportunity to participate in the Census Bureau’s historic mission. Cook worked at Brevan Howard from 2012 to 2017, BlackRock from 2017 to 2024, and briefly began launching Justinian Advisory, a startup economic research firm, before beginning his public service at the DOC. Cook is a graduate of Yale University with majors in philosophy and economics.
September 20, 2025 at 10:50 AM
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2. NEW: The Census Bureau’s webpage about its executive leadership now lists George Cook as “Performing the Duties of Director”
www.census.gov/about/leader...
Screen grab of the Census Bureau’s webpage about its executive leadership now showing George Cook’s name above “Performing the Duties of Director”
September 20, 2025 at 10:48 AM