DOJ abruptly replaces lawyers defending Trump census citizenship question - AOL

The Justice Department abruptly announced Sunday it will replace the legal team that has represented the Trump administration in its efforts to add a question about citizenship to the 2020 census.

“As will be reflected in filings tomorrow in the census-related cases, the Department of Justice is shifting these matters to a new team of Civil Division lawyers going forward,” DOJ spokesperson Kerri Kupec said in a statement. “Since these cases began, the lawyers representing the United States in these cases have given countless hours to defending the Commerce Department and have consistently demonstrated the highest professionalism, integrity, and skill inside and outside the courtroom.”

The department gave no reason for the switch, but the move is another dramatic shift in President Donald Trump’s effort to add the question to the census. The Washington Post on Sunday noted that a person familiar with the case said some of the department’s career attorneys were uncomfortable with the president’s insistence on the issue. The New York Times reported that no DOJ attorneys in the federal programs branch, which traditionally represents the government in court, will be on the census case as it advances in the courts.

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Controversy over the 2020 census

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WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 27: People gather in front of the U.S. Supreme Court after several decisions were handed down on June 27, 2019 in Washington, DC. The high court blocked a citizenship question from being added to the 2020 census for now, and in another decision ruled that the Constitution does not bar partisan gerrymandering. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 27: People gather in in front of the U.S. Supreme Court as decisions are handed down on June 27, 2019 in Washington, DC. The high court blocked a citizenship question from being added to the 2020 census for now, and in another decision ruled that the Constitution does not bar partisan gerrymandering. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 30: U.S. Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham, testifies before a House Appropriations Subcommittee about preparations for the upcoming 2020 Census, on April 30, 2019 in Washington, DC. The 2020 census has caused controversy as the Trump administration is pushing to include a citizenship question. (Photo by Pete Marovich/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 30: Kevin Smith, Associate Director for Information Technology at the US Census Bureau, Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham, Robert Goldenkoff, strategic issues director at the Government Accountability Office and Nicholas Marinos, information technology and cybersecurity director at the GAO, testify before a House Appropriations Subcommittee about preparations for the upcoming 2020 Census, on April 30, 2019 in Washington, DC. The 2020 census has caused controversy as the Trump administration is pushing to include a citizenship question. (Photo by Pete Marovich/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 30: Committee Chairwoman Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) questions Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham, as he testifies before a House Appropriations Subcommittee about preparations for the upcoming 2020 Census, on April 30, 2019 in Washington, DC. The 2020 census has caused controversy as the Trump administration is pushing to include a citizenship question. (Photo by Pete Marovich/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 30: Robert Goldenkoff, strategic issues director at the Government Accountability Office, looks on as Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham testifies before a House Appropriations Subcommittee about preparations for the upcoming 2020 Census, on April 30, 2019 in Washington, DC. The 2020 census has caused controversy as the Trump administration is pushing to include a citizenship question. (Photo by Pete Marovich/Getty Images)

As the Supreme Court justices hear oral arguments over the 2020 census citizenship question, protesters have gathered outside the building in support of a fair and accurate census and demanding to not include the controversial question in the next census. Tuesday, April 23, 2019, Washington, D.C. (Photo by Aurora Samperio/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Demonstrators rally at the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on April 23, 2019, to protest a proposal to add a citizenship question in the 2020 Census. - In March 2018, US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced he was going to reintroduce for the 2020 census a question on citizenship abandoned more than 60 years ago. The decision sparked an uproar among Democrats and defenders of migrants -- who have come under repeated attack from an administration that has made clamping down on illegal migration a hallmark as President Donald Trump seeks re-election in 2020. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

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“The Attorney General appreciates that service, thanks them for their work on these important matters, and is confident that the new team will carry on in the same exemplary fashion as the cases progress,” Kupec said.

Last week, government lawyers told a federal judge the White House would continue to move forward with its efforts to add the fraught citizenship question to the census, despite legal obstacles. Days earlier the Trump administration said it would drop the question after a Supreme Court decision temporarily barred the government from adding it.

The Census Bureau began printing forms for the tally after the decision, and had long noted that it needed a decision by June 30, the agency’s printing deadline.

But the administration reversed course a day later. Trump called reports he was abandoning the question “FAKE!” and said he was pressing ahead. Justice Department lawyers told a federal judge on Friday that they would continue argue the case, and Trump said he was mulling various strategies to get the question approved, including an executive order.

So important for our Country that the very simple and basic “Are you a Citizen of the United States?” question be allowed to be asked in the 2020 Census. Department of Commerce and the Department of Justice are working very hard on this, even on the 4th of July!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 4, 2019

“We’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters on Friday. “We could also add an addition on. So we could start the printing now and maybe do an addendum after we get a positive decision. So we’re working on a lot of things including an executive order.”

Civil rights groups have vowed to fight the White House once again should it attempt to add the question. The ACLU has argued it is meant to intimidate people of color and immigrant communities and would result in a massive undercount of up to 6.5 million people.

The census, mandated by the Constitution to count everyone living in the U.S., is used to allocate federal resources and also to allot seats in the House of Representatives.