The Supreme Court refused Friday to delay an upcoming trial in which a number of states and civil rights organizations allege there was an improper political motive in Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census.
The trial is scheduled to begin Monday in New York.
Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Neil M. Gorsuch said they would have granted the Trump administration’s request to delay the trial. It is unclear how the other six voted — including new Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh — because justices are not required to publish their votes in such procedures. But at least five of the six were unwilling to block the trial.
Later Friday night, the justices refused a Trump administration request to halt a novel lawsuit filed by young Americans that attempts to force the federal government to take action on climate change. Thomas and Gorsuch would have granted the request, but the court said the administration should make its appeal to a lower court first.
