A top official in the administration of former President Donald Trump was untruthful while testifying on adding a citizenship question to the Census, according to documents released July 20 by a top Democrat.
Wilbur Ross, the secretary of Commerce during the Trump administration, told a congressional panel in 2018 that the move to place the question back on the Census was “solely” in response to a request from the Department of Justice, and that the department initiated the move.
Ross also said that his interest in the matter had nothing to do with counting the number of illegal immigrants for apportionment purposes.
But documents obtained and released (pdf) by the House Oversight Committee show that Ross and Department of Commerce workers spent months exploring the legality of returning the question to the Census, that Ross repeatedly asked the department to provide the request, and that there were discussions about how the move would affect apportionment, or the way U.S. House of Representatives seats are allocated by state based on population….