WASHINGTON – A House committee has voted to hold two top Trump administration officials in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with subpoenas for documents related to the decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.
The Democratic-controlled House Oversight Committee voted 24-15 Wednesday to advance contempt measures against Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
The vote marks an escalation of Democratic efforts to use their House majority to aggressively investigate the inner workings of President Donald Trump’s administration.
The White House asserted executive privilege on the matter earlier Wednesday, asserting that officials had “engaged in good-faith efforts” to satisfy the committee’s oversight needs and labeling the planned contempt vote “unnecessary and premature.”
Democrats fear the citizenship question will reduce census participation in immigrant-heavy communities.
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