Judge blocks DOJ from replacing lawyers in census case

Department of Justice headquarters.
(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Department of Justice's request to to replace the legal team handling the Trump administration's attempt to include a citizenship question on the 2020 census.

On Sunday, the Justice Department said it would swap out the entire legal team, replacing them with attorneys from the DOJ's Civil Division and Consumer Protection Branch, but did not explain why. Last week, the Department of Justice said it was giving up its fight to get the question on the census, but they reversed course after Trump pushed back, even saying he is considering an executive order to ensure it is included.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.