Bill Barr
Attorney General Bill Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross wrote House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging her to cancel an imminent vote to hold them in contempt of Congress.
A vote on the contempt resolution is expected by 7 PM ET.
The Democrat-led House Oversight Committee previously issued Barr and Ross a subpoena for documents related to the citizenship question on the 2020 census.
Both Barr and Ross defied the congressional subpoena and the Democrats moved to hold them in contempt.
Now that President Trump has backed down from adding the citizenship question to the census, Barr and Ross are asking Pelosi to cancel the “unjustified contempt vote.”
“We write to strongly oppose the pending resolution of the Committee on Oversight and Reform concerning the decision to reinstate a citizenship question on the 2020 Census,” they wrote.
The two argued in the letter that the Department has already accommodated numerous Committee requests.
Congressman Mark Meadows (R-NC) earlier Wednesday blasted Chairman Elijah Cummings for holding the contempt vote and used the chairman’s previous words against him.
“‘Holding someone in contempt of Congress is one of the most serious and formal actions our committee can take,” Meadows began. “It should not be used as a political tool to generate press as part of an election-year witch hunt. Now, who is responsible for that quote? It’s not Jordan, it’s not Cheney, It’s Chairman Elijah Cummings!”
The Democrats no longer legislate. All they do is use time and resources to harass President Trump and his associates.
JUST IN: BARR and ROSS write to Speaker Pelosi urging her to cancel the imminent vote to hold them in contempt of Congress >>> pic.twitter.com/UYDpcLts8v
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) July 17, 2019
