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A2 u.s. news
Saturday 16 January 2021
Census numbers won’t be released before change in power

By MIKE SCHNEIDER cords, and Dillingham had
Associated Press set a Friday deadline for
Government attorneys bureau statisticians to pro-
and municipalities fight- vide him a technical report
ing over the 2020 census on the effort.
asked a judge Friday to put After the release of the in-
their court case on hold, spector general’s report,
as Department of Justice leaders of the National As-
attorneys said the Census sociation of Latino Elected
Bureau for now will not re- and Appointed Officials,
lease numbers that could Asian Americans Advanc-
be used to exclude people ing Justice and The Lead-
in the U.S. illegally from the ership Conference on Civil
process of divvying up con- and Human Rights called
gressional seats. for Dillingham’s resignation.
Department of Justice at- Democratic lawmakers in
torneys and attorneys for a Congress have followed
coalition of municipalities suit in the past two days,
and advocacy groups that saying Dillingham has al-
had sued the Trump admin- lowed the Trump adminis-
istration over the 2020 cen- tration to politicize the 2020
sus asked U.S. District Judge census.
Lucy Koh to suspend their Steven Dillingham, the director of the U.S. Census Bureau, speaks outside the Oklahoma State “The Trump administration
court case for 21 days so Capitol, Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, in Oklahoma City, encouraging people to fill out their census form waged a damaging cam-
the administration of Pres- before the end of the month. paign against the census
ident-elect Joe Biden can Associated Press with the intent of manipu-
take power and decide illegally after the Supreme edented order on appor- he had set a deadline for lating the results to be polit-
how to proceed. Court blocked his admin- tionment was challenged pressured statisticians to ically advantageous for the
“Such a stay would permit istration’s effort to put a in more than a half-dozen produce a report on the President and the Republi-
the incoming Administra- citizenship question on the lawsuits around the U.S., number of people in the can Party,” said U.S. Sen.
tion to evaluate the Census 2020 census questionnaire. but the Supreme Court U.S. illegally. Jeanne Shaheen of New
Bureau’s and the Depart- In a separate order last ruled last month that any Dillingham on Wednesday Hampshire in a statement.
ment of Commerce’s op- year, Trump instructed the challenge was premature. ordered an indefinite halt “Census Director Steven
erations and assess, among Census Bureau, as part of The court filing also said the to the efforts to produce Dillingham’s failure to put
other things, the interests of the 2020 count of every U.S. Trump administration would data showing the citizen- country over loyalty to the
the United States and its resident, to provide data not be releasing the num- ship status of every U.S. President allowed these
litigating positions in light that would allow his admin- bers used for apportioning resident through adminis- transgressions to occur and
of Plaintiffs’ claims in this istration to exclude people congressional seats among trative records after fac- he therefore should resign.”
case,” the attorneys said in in the U.S. illegally from the the states, and determining ing blowback from civil U.S. Rep. Judy Chu of Cali-
a court filing Friday. numbers used for divvy- the distribution of $1.5 tril- rights groups and concerns fornia said in a statement
The Trump administration ing up congressional seats lion in federal funding, be- raised by whistleblower that communities of color
attorneys said the Census among the states. fore the change in admin- statisticians about the ac- have borne the brunt of at-
Bureau would not be re- An influential GOP adviser istrations. curacy of such figures. tacks on the census.
leasing figures related to had advocated exclud- A hearing in the case was A report by the Office “Officials like Steven Dilling-
two orders from Presidential ing them from the appor- scheduled for later Friday. of Inspector General on ham who cannot put the
Donald Trump before the tionment process in order Meanwhile, a group of Wednesday said bureau needs of the nation over
change in administrations. to favor Republicans and Democratic lawmakers are workers were under sig- the demands of a twice
Trump’s first order, issued non-Hispanic whites, even joining civil right groups in nificant pressure from two impeached President
in 2019, directed the Cen- though the Constitution calling for U.S. Census Bu- Trump political appointees should resign,” said Chu,
sus Bureau to use admin- spells out that every per- reau director Steven Dill- to figure out who is in the who chairs the Congressio-
istrative records to figure son in each state should be ingham’s resignation after U.S. illegally using federal nal Asian Pacific American
out who is in the country counted. Trump’s unprec- a watchdog agency said and state administrative re- Caucus.q

Trump to leave Washington on morning of Biden’s inauguration

By JILL COLVIN and DAR- spoke on condition of ano- ing baseless allegations of
LENE SUPERVILLE nymity because Trump’s voter fraud in an attempt
Associated Press plans have not been for- to delegitimize Biden’s
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi- mally announced. Officials presidency. Vice President
dent Donald Trump will are considering an elabo- Mike Pence will attend in
leave Washington next rate event that would have his place. Trump will leave
Wednesday morning, just the feel of a state visit, with Washington two weeks af-
before President-elect Joe a red carpet, color guard, ter he incited a violent in-
Biden’s inauguration, to military band and 21-gun surrection, with his support-
begin his post-presidential salute all being discussed. ers storming the Capitol
life in Florida. Trump had already an- building in an attempt to
He will be sent off with a nounced that he would not halt the peaceful transition
departure ceremony at be attending Biden’s in- of power. Trump is expect-
In this Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021, file photo, President Donald Trump Joint Base Andrews, ac- auguration — an historical ed to remain in Florida with
arrives on the South Lawn of the White House, in Washington,
after returning from Texas. cording to a person famil- break with tradition — af- a small group of aides as
Associated Press iar with the planning who ter spending months mak- he mulls his future.q