House panel threatening subpoenas over census question

WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the House oversight committee is threatening to subpoena testimony and documents related to the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census.

Rep. Elijah Cummings says officials at the Commerce Department withheld key documents about the decision despite repeated follow-up requests.

In a letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Cummings says the committee “is seeking to understand the real reason that you added a citizenship question to the 2020 census.”

Ross says the decision to add the citizenship question came in response to a request from the Justice Department, but Cummings says records contradict that claim.

Cummings writes that he will give the department until Monday to agree to provide the documents and witnesses for transcribed interviews.