Washington, D.C. -Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, announced that he has scheduled a Committee vote for this Wednesday to hold Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with bipartisan subpoenas issued as part of the Committee’s investigation into the Trump Administration’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census.
Cummings sent to all Committee Members a proposed resolution and report that will be voted on this Wednesday in order to proceed with both criminal and civil actions to enforce the Committee’s bipartisan subpoenas.
Cummings also issued the following statement:
“President Trump declared to the entire country that he is fighting all the subpoenas-even when they are bipartisan and seek information on matters as critical as the Census. The Trump Administration has demonstrated repeatedly that it is willing to disregard the Constitution, defy decades of clear precedent, and invent frivolous new arguments to delay and obstruct Congress’ oversight authority, and Attorney General Barr and Secretary Ross are complicit in this cover-up.
“I did not want this to happen. I asked Secretary Ross to meet with me personally to try to resolve this impasse, but he refused. Both Secretary Ross and Attorney General Barr are refusing to comply with duly authorized subpoenas from Congress. Because they are in contempt of Congress, on Wednesday, the Committee will vote to move forward to enforce our bipartisan subpoenas. I continue to hope that they will change course and begin producing the information we need to do our job under the Constitution."
The Committee will hold a business meeting on Wednesday, June 12, 2019, at 10 a.m. in Room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
