No contingency for early census certification, Murphy says

Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration has no contingency plan in place in the case that President Donald Trump chooses to certify census figures before leaving office, he said Monday.

“I would hope that does not happen, and I don’t have a contingency plan unless Parimal tells me he’s got one, Murphy said, referring to his chief counsel Parimal Garg.

This year’s census has seen no shortage of controversy. The Trump administration successfully sought to end counting for the 2020 census a month early, ending on Sept. 31 instead of Oct. 31. The plan faced some hurdles after a U.S. District Judge issued an order commanding the count continue until the end of October, but the U.S. Supreme Court eventually overruled that decision.