House Democrats will get a chance to quiz Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on his controversial decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.
Ross will appear before the House Oversight Committee on March 14 in a public setting, Chairman Rep. Elijah Cummings, announced Tuesday.
“Committee Members expect Secretary Ross to provide complete and truthful answers to a wide range of questions, including questions regarding the ongoing preparations for the census, the addition of a citizenship question, and other topics,” the Maryland Democrat said in a statement. “The Committee also expects full compliance with all of our outstanding document requests prior to the hearing.”
Last week, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from adding the citizenship question.
Judge Jesse Furman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York vacated Ross’ decision to add the question and enjoined the administration from asking about citizenship on the census “without curing the legal defects” he identified.
At the time, the Justice Department said it was “disappointed” by the ruling and said Ross “reasonably decided” to include the citizenship question.
Ross announced in March that a citizenship question — “Is this person a citizen of the United States?” — would be added to the 2020 census in an effort to ensure better enforcement of the Voting Rights Act.
Led by New York, numerous states, cities and immigrant-rights groups sued, and asked the court to stop the Trump administration from including the question.
The decision from the U.S. district court is likely to be appealed to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in a case over evidence that can be considered in the legal challenges on Feb. 19. An issue in the dispute is whether Ross can be forced to sit for a deposition.
According to Cummings’ office, Ross agreed to testify “voluntarily and without a subpoena” after “several weeks of discussions.”
Cummings and other Democratic committee leaders have vowed to investigate the Trump administration now that they are in control of the House.
