1/ A federal judge rejected a Trump administration request to assign a new legal team to a lawsuit that blocked the addition of the citizenship question to the 2020 census. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman called the request “patently deficient� and that the U.S. had provided “no reasons, let alone ‘satisfactory reasons,’ for the substitution of counsel.� The Justice Department had announced its intention earlier this week to swap out the legal team on the case, but didn’t explain why. (Bloomberg / Washington Post)

2/ House Democrats plan to move forward with criminal contempt proceedings against Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross for defying congressional subpoenas related to the addition of a citizenship question on the 2020 Census. The move is a largely symbolic one, unlikely to lead to many tangible consequences. The DOJ will most likely refuse to charge Barr or any other cabinet secretary with a crime, and has even urged officials not to comply with the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s subpoenas. (Politico)

3/ Democrats in Congress called on Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta to resign over a controversial plea deal he brokered as a U.S. attorney that gave a lenient sentence to Jeffrey Epstein, who served 13 months for sexually abusing dozens of young women and underage girls. Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer said Acosta “must step down� because “he engaged in an unconscionable agreement� with Epstein that was “known� by Trump at the time. Acosta defended his 2007 decision, tweeting that he supports the “horrific� new charges a...