Reuters reports:
A U.S. Justice Department lawyer told a Maryland-based federal judge on Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s administration is seeking a “path forward” to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, a dramatic change of course.
“We at the Department of Justice have been instructed to examine whether there is a path forward … that would allow us to include the citizenship question on the census,” Assistant Attorney General Joseph Hunt told U.S. District Judge George Hazel during a call with lawyers involved in litigation over the matter.
UPDATE: US District Judge George Hazel is moving up deadline to Friday, July 5, at 2 p.m. ET for Trump admin to enter written agreement that confirms it’s no longer pursuing #CitizenshipQuestion on #2020Census, @MALDEF’s Denise Hulett & @CovingtonLLP’s Shankar Duraiswamy tell me.
— Hansi Lo Wang (@hansilowang) July 3, 2019
2. If Trump administration does not enter into written agreement to not pursue a #CitizenshipQuestion by Friday 2 p.m. ET hearing, Judge Hazel is ready to move forward with reconsidering recently resurrected discrimination and conspiracy allegations against the question.
— Hansi Lo Wang (@hansilowang) July 3, 2019
3. NEW: AAG Joseph Hunt: “We at the Department of Justice have been instructed to examine whether there is a path forward, consistent with the Supreme Court’s decision, that would allow us to include the citizenship question on the census.”
Transcript of 3:30 p ET hearing? pic.twitter.com/zMxLYXASse
— Hansi Lo Wang (@hansilowang) July 3, 2019