WASHINGTON (NewsNation Now) — The Supreme Court said Friday it will decide whether President Donald Trump can exclude people living in the U.S. illegally from the census count that is used to allocate seats in the House of Representatives.

Trump’s policy has been blocked by a lower court, and the justices were under no obligation to hear arguments. They signaled in their order Friday that they would decide the issue by early January, when Trump must report the once-a-decade census results to Congress.

A three-judge federal court panel said in holding the policy illegal that never in U.S. history have immigrants been excluded from the population count that determines how House seats, and by extension Electoral College votes, are divided among the states.

The court, likely to soon have a 6-3 conservative majority if the Republican-controlled Senate confirms Trump nominee Amy Coney Barrett, will hear the case on Nov. 30. 

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