A Justice Department Changes Jurists Following a Census: NPR

The Justice Department announced a major reshuffle Sunday within its team of lawyers involved in the ongoing legal battle over the citizenship issue that the Trump administration wishes to add to the 2020 census forms.

"The Ministry of Justice entrusts these issues to a new team of civil division lawyers," said DOJ spokeswoman Kerri Kupec in a statement.

The new team is made up of career lawyers and political appointees, including lawyers from the Consumer Protection Branch, said a DOJ official to Carrie Johnson of the NPR .

The Department of Justice has not explained the change nor indicated in the file which lawyers would no longer work on census-related files. But more details are expected Monday in the court filings.

This decision comes as the Trump administration continues its search for a new way of including the question "Is this person a citizen of the United States? – on the forms for the next national count after the Supreme Court decided last month to keep it for the moment.

A few days after the Supreme Court dismissed the reason invoked by the administration to add the issue, the Justice Department announced early last week that printing had begun for the census forms on paper that did not include the question.

It seemed like a legal battle lasting more than a year was coming to an end. Lawyers of the Ministry of Justice, including US Solicitor General Christmas Francisco, had repeatedly insisted in court on the importance of finalizing the 2020 census forms by June 30, so that paper questionnaires could be printed in time.

But President Trump's tweets indicated that he was determined to continue to press for the issue.

"We are absolutely going forward, as it should, because of the importance of the answer to this question," Trump tweeted July 3rd.

The president's comments drew the attention of US District Judge George Hazel, who called for an emergency telephone hearing last week as part of the lawsuit in Maryland. During the hearing, Hazel asked Joshua Gardner, DOJ attorney, to confirm the plans of the administration after indicating that Gardner had indicated the day before that the administration proceeded to do so. printing of forms without the question of citizenship.

"This morning's tweet is the first I've heard of the president's position on the issue," said Gardner, who had departed from scheduled vacations to join the teleconference, according to a report. transcription. "I do not understand better what it means right now, if it's not what the president tweeted, but obviously, as you can imagine, I'm doing my best to understand what happens."

Speaking to reporters Sunday, Trump said his administration had "several ways" to include a citizenship issue in the census.

"Our Attorney General is doing a fantastic job, in many ways, and I think he's controlling it," Trump said.

In his written statement, Kupec noted that DOJ lawyers involved in census cases "have consistently demonstrated the highest professionalism, integrity and skills inside and outside the hall. audience ".

"The Attorney General appreciates this service, thanks them for their work on these important issues and is confident that the new team will continue its activities in the same exemplary way as business evolves," Kupec added. .

NPR & # 39; s Carrie Johnson Contributed reports.