Judge blocks government lawyers from quitting census fight

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge says the Justice Department can't change lawyers so late in the dispute over whether to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.

Judge Jesse Furman today ruled lawyers must cite satisfactory reasons for withdrawing.

Judge Furman said the urgency to resolve legal claims in the case and the need for efficient judicial proceedings had only grown.

The Justice Department sought to change its lawyers after the Supreme Court barred the inclusion of the question, at least temporarily.

The decision last week by the Justice Department also came after an embarrassing episode in which lawyers seemed to be giving up the legal fight as President Donald Trump insisted he was doubling down to include the question on the census.

The Justice Department did not immediately comment.