Supreme Court for now puts off Commerce Department census case

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Supreme Court for now puts off Commerce Department census case

The Supreme Court on Friday delayed arguments over whether Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross can be compelled to explain his actions in a case challenging the Trump administration’s addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

By Robert Barnes

January 18 at 5:01 PM

The Supreme Court on Friday said it was delaying arguments over whether Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and others can be compelled to explain their actions in a case challenging the Trump administration’s addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census.

The court didn’t explain its decision, but the case has been overtaken by events. Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman of New York ordered the administration to stop its plans to add the question to the survey.

Furman said Ross broke a “veritable smorgasbord” of federal rules by ordering the citizenship question added against the advice of career officials who said it was likely to cut down the response rate and make the census less accurate.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/supreme-court-for-now-puts-off-commerce-department-census-case/2019/01/18/ab8e526a-1b67-11e9-88fe-f9f77a3bcb6c_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.cbfc7c4b63a6

By Robert Barnes

January 18 at 5:01 PM