Washington(ANN)- US President Donald Trump says he may issue an executive order to proceed in his administration’s effort to add a contentious citizenship question to the 2020 census.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump said he had four or five options and that he was “thinking about” an executive order.
“We’re working on a lot of things including an executive order,” he said. “We’re thinking about doing that, it’s one of the ways.”
When asked about why that question should be added, he said, “You need it for many reasons. Number one, you need it for Congress, for districting. You need it for appropriations: Where are the funds going, how many people are there, are they citizens, are they not citizens? You need it for many reasons.”
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to ban the inclusion of the question in the 2020 census for now, saying the administration’s argument that the question is necessary to enforce a federal voting rights law was not convincing as it did not line up with the evidence provided.
The high court then called on the administration to provide a new legal rationale for adding the question. So far, however, the administration has failed to do so.
Meanwhile, US District Judge George Hazel said on Wednesday that if the administration did not reach a decision, he would go ahead with considering accusations based on newly discovered evidence that what had led to the decision to add the question was motivated by racial bias.
Critics assert that adding the question could lead to minorities being undercounted, which would ultimately impact congressional redistricting in ways that favor Republicans.
