ABC7- California Secretary of State Alex Padilla says the federal government is far behind and underfunded in preparation for the 2020 census and lays the blame on President Donald Trump.

Speaking on Eyewitness Newsmakers, Padilla referred to his recently-published opinion piece accusing the president of suppressing the population count, which could lose a congressional seat for the state and jeopardize funding for health, education and transportation.

Padilla’s primary opposition is the Department of Justice request to add a citizenship question to the census survey. He said there hasn’t been such a question in 50 years, and all California residents should be counted, even non-citizens. Padilla also pointed to U.S. Census Director John Thompson’s resignation nearly a year ago, and he still hadn’t been replaced. Funding and personnel are also lagging. Padilla stated this is a deliberate attempt to undercount the population.

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