Trump May Make Aggressive Move on Census Question

Axios reports that an executive order to add citizenship question is being considered
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 4, 2019 12:51 PM CDT
Trump May Make Aggressive Move on Census Question
News agency interns sprint across the plaza at the Supreme Court with copies of the justices' final decisions of the term in Washington June 27, 2019.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Whether the 2020 census will include a question about citizenship remains very much in limbo, but President Trump reiterated Thursday that he still wants to make it happen, reports the Hill. "So important for our Country that the very simple and basic 'Are you a Citizen of the United States?' question be allowed to be asked in the 2020 Census," he tweeted, adding that the departments of Justice and Commerce "are working very hard on this, even on the 4th of July!" Axios reports that one option under consideration in the White House is to have Trump issue an executive order to have the question added.

"We didn’t come this far just to throw in the towel," a source tells Axios. Still, the move would be a controversial one, and it's not a sure thing. All this became necessary after the Supreme Court shot down the idea of adding the question, saying the White House had not adequately explained the rationale. The Justice Department then began moving ahead on the census without the question, until Trump tweeted that he still wanted one. Since then, administration lawyers have been scrambling to figure out next steps. A federal judge in Maryland has set a deadline of 2pm Friday to hear back from the administration, per the Washington Post. (More US citizenship stories.)

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