Supreme Court grants Trump administration's request to halt census count while appeal plays out
The Supreme Court granted a request from the Trump administration to halt the census count while an appeal over a lower court's order that it continue plays out.
Posted — UpdatedThe administration had asked the high court for "immediate relief" because a lower court order would have required the census count to continue until October 31. The Trump administration argued that would have prevented Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross from delivering a count of the nation's population to President Donald Trump by December 31.
The ruling is a win for the administration, which argued the shortened deadline is necessary to give the Commerce Department enough time to meet the December deadline. The administration noted that the count had been delayed by Covid-19 but that if the time spent counting was shortened, that deadline could still be met.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented from the order fearing that the shortened timeline would produce inaccurate results.
"Because the harms associated with an inaccurate census are avoidable and intolerable, I respectfully dissent from the grant of stay," she wrote.
No other justice noted a dissent.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
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