Commerce Department

Four federal agencies under President Obama requested new sexual orientation and gender identity questions for the American Community Survey. Under President Trump, the proposal stalled.

The Trump administration has said the Justice Department needs a citizenship question on the 2020 census. But a newly unredacted memo shows DOJ staff initially "did not want to raise the question."

The cellphone maker was sanctioned by the Commerce Department for illegal sales to Iran and North Korea. However, President Trump last month said he wanted to resolve the issue to save jobs in China.

Officials from the Census Bureau and Commerce Department are set to testify in May about 2020 census which will ask if respondents are citizens, a question which has sparked lawsuits.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross says the question will help the Justice Department enforce the Voting Rights Act. Opponents say the question will discourage immigrants from being counted.

Retail and food sales were up 5.8 percent in November over the same time last year, the Commerce Department said. Retailers are hoping for their best year since before the economic recession.

Ruling on a complaint by Boeing, the Commerce Department has imposed a 220 percent tariff on the import of the Montreal-based company's top-end C-Series passenger jet.

Director John Thompson will leave the Census Bureau next month. He testified to a House panel last week that the 2020 Census was on track, but critics warn projected funding could prove inadequate.

The move is surprising to U.S.-China watchers, and comes just days before President Trump is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in person for the first time.

Ross, 79, made his fortune buying distressed companies and restoring them to health. Criticized by some as a "vulture capitalist," he received the support of the United Steelworkers union.