Overholt will support the 2020 census, which is ongoing, and has a PhD in applied statistics and research methods from the University of Northern Colorado.

Prior to joining the bureau, Overholt was lead statistician at the Office of Enterprise Data and Analytics at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Overholt also spent more than five years as the sole statistician in the voting section of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

Before joining the civil service, Overholt served 14 years in the US army, five of which were either spent mobilised or on active duty. This included a spell between 2003 and 2004 as a team leader during the Iraq war.

The US Census is taking place this year, despite calls for its postponement in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.