The U.S. Census Bureau has found new irregularities in the head count data that determines congressional seat allocations and the distribution of $1.5 trillion in federal spending each year, John Coghlan, a deputy assistant Attorney General, said during a court hearing.
Under federal law, the Census Bureau is required to turn in the numbers used for allocating congressional seats by Dec. 31, but the bureau announced last week that the numbers wouldn’t be ready.
At the time, the Census Bureau said it would finish the apportionment numbers in early 2021, as close to the end-of-year deadline as possible.
The new irregularities discovered by the Census Bureau should come as no surprise, said Rob Santos, president of the American Statistical Association, in an email Monday night.
Meanwhile, attorneys for the coalition said they plan to seek court sanctions against Trump administration attorneys for refusing to turn over data and documents they are seeking.