Trump Looking to Replace Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross: Report
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President Donald Trump is considering removing Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross after losing a Supreme Court case on adding a citizenship question to the census, CNBC reported Monday.
Trump expressed his frustration with Ross to aides and allies, CNBC said, citing people familiar with the conversations.
The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in late June to bar the administration from including the controversial citizenship question on the 2020 census.
The administration had maintained that the question would bolster protections for minority voters, but critics said it was politically motivated and would lead to fewer immigrant households taking part.
Trump said the administration would find other ways to determine the citizenship of the U.S. population.
Ross, 81, is one of the original members of Trump's Cabinet. There is no indication Trump has reached out directly to potential replacements for Ross, CNBC said.
Trump and Ross met through Trump's Atlantic City casino hotel bankruptcies in the 1990s, when Ross was representing some of Trump's creditors. That long association and last week's resignation of U.S. Labor Secretary Alex Acosta might help Ross hold on to his job, CNBC said. Acosta stepped down on Friday following questions about his role in a controversial 2008 plea agreement with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Others at the White House believe Ross will be out as soon as this summer, according to CNBC.