The Justice Department persuaded a federal court Friday to delay a hearing set for next week about whether the Texas voter ID law was intended to discriminate against minorities.
Justice Department attorneys filed a motion Friday seeking to postpone the U.S. District Court hearing so that government lawyers have time to discuss the case with new political appointees installed by President Donald Trump. Implicit in the motion is the possibility that the federal government might not be as harshly critical of the law as it was under President Barack Obama.
"Because of the change in administration, the Department of Justice also experienced a transition in leadership. The United States requires additional time to brief the new leadership of the Department on this case and the issues to be addressed at that hearing before making any representations to the Court. This motion is made in good faith and not for the purposes of delay," Justice lawyers wrote.
By Josh Gerstein
01/20/17 07:19 PM EST
http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2017/01/trump-transition-texas-voter-id-233946
