Carlos Osorio/AP Controversial professor withdraws from consideration for top Census job

Thomas Brunell, a Texas professor with no government experience who testified on behalf of Republican efforts to redraw congressional districts, has withdrawn from consideration for the top operational job at the U.S. Census Bureau, according to two people familiar with his plans.

Brunell had come under fire from Democrats and others after POLITICO first reported last year that he was the leading candidate for the job.


A Commerce Department spokesman confirmed that Brunell is not under consideration for the job. Brunell did not respond to multiple requests for comment on Monday.

Mother Jones first reported the news that Brunell had withdrawn from consideration.

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Voting-rights advocates were watching to see who got the job of deputy director of the Census Bureau, viewing it as the first sign of how the administration might try to shape the 2020 census, which determines which states lose and gain electoral votes and seats in the House of Representatives. Advocates worried that President Donald Trump's pick might make subtle bureaucratic choices that could end up over- or under-counting some Americans.

Brunell is the author of a 2008 book titled “Redistricting and Representation: Why Competitive Elections Are Bad for America.” If he had become deputy director of the Census Bureau, it would have broken with a long tradition of nonpolitical government officials taking the job, which does not require Senate confirmation.

