Commentary Warns Census Race Question Removal Could Create Data Gap

Proposals to drop race and ethnicity questions from the 2030 census and end employer reporting of workforce race and sex data could leave gaps in national statistics on how racial groups are faring, according to commentary by Paul Starr, coeditor of The American Prospect.¹ Starr warns the same logic could spread to other federal data.

"Suppressing data about race will not suppress racism itself,” he wrote.

What did the Administration Propose?

The Census Bureau published a proposed rule on September 10, 2026, that would bar race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation questions from the 2030 and later censuses.² On July 21, 2026, the EEOC voted 2-1 to advance a proposed rule rescinding employer reporting of workforce race and sex data, pending public comment and final approval.³ Starr noted the census is the only enumeration of the entire US population, and the EEOC data cover about 50 million employees.¹ The administration calls racial categories arbitrary, citing the Harvard admissions decision.

Starr argued the administration’s approach is inconsistent: at the president's direction, the Department of Education is requiring colleges to report race and sex data for applicants, admitted students, and enrollees.

The administration has firmer legal ground on removing the race question than on a separate proposal to narrow the apportionment count, according to Starr. He said the Supreme Court's April 2026 decision in Louisiana v Callais may have removed the only legal obstacle to dropping the race question. The 6-3 ruling narrowed states' ability to use race as a determining factor in drawing election districts.⁴

Why Census Race Data Matter for Health

Most governmental and private surveys rely on the decennial count for representative estimates, that rates such as birth and death rates depend on census denominators, and that Americans should be able to see how those rates vary across racial lines, the article noted.¹ Axios reported the proposal would not stop demographic questions on the American Community Survey, though Terri Ann Lowenthal, a former House census oversight staff director, said the census benchmarks other samples.⁵

Citing Anne Case and Angus Deaton's deaths of despair research, Starr wrote that without race data, many people would have assumed rising death rates among white adults without a college education applied mostly to minorities.¹

The Importance of Race and Diversity in Managed Care

In January 2025, the FDA removed its draft guidance on clinical trial diversity from its website days after the president's executive order limiting diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, without public notice.⁶ The June 2024 draft would have had sponsors submit Diversity Action Plans with enrollment goals disaggregated by race, ethnicity, sex, and age group.

A 2012 study published in The American Journal of Managed Care^® based on 2009 interviews with 15 health plans found strong interest in standardized categories and consistent data metrics so race, ethnicity, and language data would be comparable across the health care sector.⁷ A 2024 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report recommended that federal agencies enhance collection and use of race, ethnicity, tribal affiliation, and language data to better identify health inequities.⁸

Since mail-in questionnaires arrived in 1960, the Census Bureau has relied on self-identification.¹ Race and ethnicity reporting standards were adopted in 1977, revised in 1997 to allow multiple race selections, and revised in 2024 to add a Middle Eastern and North African category and combine race and ethnicity into one question.

What Happens Next?

Starr noted that Democrats largely avoided the issue during the midterm campaign. He says a new Democratic Congress could try to reverse the changes through legislation next year that the president would sign because of other provisions he wants. He is unsure it would be a priority, and some Democrats may welcome removing race from the census.

References

1. Starr P. Race, race, go away. The American Prospect. November 12, 2026. Accessed November 12, 2026. https://prospect.org/2026/11/12/race-race-go-away-trump-census/

2. Moreno D. A new census rule could reshape how your community is counted: here's what to know. National League of Cities. September 28, 2026. Accessed November 12, 2026. https://www.nlc.org/article/2026/09/28/a-new-census-rule-could-reshape-how-your-community-is-counted-heres-what-to-know/

3. Savage C, Olson A. Federal civil rights agency votes to scrap 60-year-old workforce diversity reporting rule. Associated Press via Fortune. July 21, 2026. Accessed November 12, 2026. https://fortune.com/2026/07/21/eeoc-diversity-reporting-scrapped/

4. Bomboy S. The Supreme Court's Callais decision sets new framework for racial gerrymandering. National Constitution Center. April 30, 2026. Accessed November 12, 2026. https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-supreme-courts-callais-decision-sets-new-framework-for-racial-gerrymandering

5. Lotz A. Trump's census plan could reshape voting maps, eliminate race questions. Axios. September 10, 2026. Accessed November 12, 2026. https://www.axios.com/2026/09/10/trump-census-voting-maps-race-questions

6. Grossi G. FDA quietly removes draft guidance on diversity in clinical trials following executive order on DEI. AJMC^®. January 31, 2025. Accessed November 12, 2026. https://www.ajmc.com/view/fda-quietly-removes-draft-guidance-on-diversity-in-clinical-trials-following-executive-order-on-dei

7. Gazmararian J, Carreón R, Olson N, Lardy B. Exploring health plan perspectives in collecting and using data on race, ethnicity, and language. Am J Manag Care. 2012;18(7):e254-e261. Accessed November 12, 2026. https://www.ajmc.com/view/exploring-health-plan-perspectives-in-collecting-and-using-data-on-race-ethnicity-and-language

8. Grossi G. Persistent challenge in US health equity revealed by new NASEM report. AJMC. June 27, 2024. Accessed November 12, 2026. https://www.ajmc.com/view/persistent-challenge-in-us-health-equity-revealed-by-new-nasem-report