On December 5, 2025, a new debate erupted over the future of how Americans are counted and classified, as a Trump administration official signaled the possibility of rolling back recent changes to racial and ethnic categories on federal forms, including the 2030 U.S. Census. The announcement, made at a Washington, D.C. gathering of the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics, has sparked concern among civil rights advocates, statisticians, and policymakers who say that the accuracy and fairness of the nation’s demographic data may be at stake.
The racial and ethnic standards in question were last revised in 2024 during the Biden administration, following extensive Census Bureau research and broad public discussion. According to NPR, these revisions introduced new checkboxes for "Middle Eastern or North African" and "Hispanic or Latino" on a reformatted question that asks survey participants: “What is your race and/or ethnicity?” Importantly, the new standards also required the federal government to stop automatically categorizing people who identify as Middle Eastern or North African as white—a move advocates say better reflects the true diversity of the country.
But just a year after these changes were approved, the Trump administration has initiated a fresh review of the standards and the process by which they were adopted. Mark Calabria, chief statistician at the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB), confirmed the review at the December meeting. "We're still at the very beginning of a review. And this, again, is not prejudging any particular outcome. I think we just wanted to be able to take a look at the process and decide where we wanted to end up on a number of these questions," Calabria stated, as reported by NPR. He emphasized that he had "certainly heard a wide range of views within the administration" and that it was "just premature to say where we'll end up."
This is the first public confirmation that the Trump administration is considering not using the latest revisions to the racial and ethnic categories. The OMB’s press office did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to Beritaja and NPR.
The timing of the review is significant. In September 2025, OMB had announced a six-month extension to the 2029 deadline for federal agencies to implement the new standards when collecting data on race and ethnicity. The agency said the delay would give agencies more time to adapt to the changes “while we review.” This echoes the approach of the first Trump administration, which stalled the process for revising racial and ethnic data standards in time for the 2020 census.
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C., has played a prominent role in shaping Republican policy on this issue. Its "Project 2025" policy agenda called for a thorough review of any changes to census race and ethnicity questions, citing "concerns among conservatives that the data under Biden Administration proposals could be skewed to bolster progressive political agendas." The agenda recommends that a Republican administration "thoroughly review any changes" to the standards, a message that appears to be resonating with current officials.
For supporters of the 2024 revisions, the new categories are long-overdue updates that finally give many Americans a chance to see themselves accurately reflected in official data. “At stake is a more accurate and deeper understanding of the communities that comprise our country,” said Meeta Anand, senior director of census and data equity at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, in comments reported by NPR and Beritaja. She argued that the new standards help ensure that policies and resources are tailored to the real needs of diverse communities, not obscured by outdated classifications.
Advocates fear that any last-minute changes to the standards could undermine the accuracy of census data and other federal statistics. These numbers are not just academic; they’re used to redraw voting districts, enforce civil rights protections, and guide a wide array of policymaking decisions, from health care funding to education resources. If the categories are changed or rolled back, it could have real-world consequences for representation and resource allocation.
There’s also concern about the transparency and intent of the review process itself. "I am not concerned if it's reviewed in an honest attempt to understand what the process was. I am concerned if it's for a predetermined outcome that would be to ignore the entire process that was done in a very transparent manner," Anand said. She and others argue that the Biden-era revisions were the result of years of open discussion, research, and public input—a process that should not be overridden for political reasons.
The Trump administration’s broader approach to data collection and civil rights has added to the anxiety. According to NPR, the administration has previously targeted diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, pushed to stop producing data that could protect the rights of transgender people, and threatened the reliability of federal statistics. These actions, combined with the new review of census categories, have led some to suspect a coordinated effort to reshape how the government recognizes and responds to the nation’s diversity.
Meanwhile, the OMB maintains that the Biden-era revisions "continue to be in effect" for now, even as the review proceeds. Agencies have until 2029 to fully implement the new standards, but the extension announced in September gives the Trump administration time to reconsider or potentially reverse the changes before they are widely adopted.
The debate over census categories is not new, nor is it likely to be resolved quickly. The first Trump administration’s decision to stall revisions before the 2020 census meant that millions of Americans were once again forced to choose from outdated and incomplete options when describing their identities. Now, with the 2030 census on the horizon, the stakes are just as high—if not higher.
For many, the outcome of this review will signal how the federal government views its responsibility to reflect the country’s true makeup. Will it pursue a more accurate, inclusive count, or revert to older, less representative standards? As the review process unfolds, both supporters and critics are watching closely, knowing that the consequences will be felt for years to come.
With the review only just beginning, uncertainty hangs in the air. But one thing is clear: the question of who counts—and how they are counted—remains as contentious and consequential as ever.