On Friday before departing D.C., President Donald Trump told reporters he was “thinking about” using an Executive Order to add the hotly debated Citizenship question to the 2020 Census.
Q: “Are you going to issue an executive order on the census?”
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 5, 2019
President Trump: “We’re thinking about doing that. It’s one of the ways, we have four or five ways we can do it. It’s one of the ways we’re thinking of doing it.” pic.twitter.com/vp93GpFKQA
As the News Blender reported On Wednesday the President tweeted that news reports that stated the citizenship question would not appear on the Census, were “FAKE.”
The News Reports about the Department of Commerce dropping its quest to put the Citizenship Question on the Census is incorrect or, to state it differently, FAKE! We are absolutely moving forward, as we must, because of the importance of the answer to this question.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 3, 2019
The news reports were based on an official statement from, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, and Department of Justice lawyer, Kate Bailey.
Both notices said the printing of the Census form, had begun without the addition of the citizenship question.
The Census Bureau has started the process of printing the decennial questionnaires without the question.
Ross statement via CNN.
As the News Blender reported on Thursday, a Maryland Judge, George Hazel, ordered a teleconference between the Government and plaintiffs lawyers, who are involved in a lawsuit that stems from the citizenship question being added to the census, in order to clarify President Trump’s tweet, as the Judge noted, it seemed to contradict what the Government had told the Court on Tuesday.
Judge Hazel gave the parties involved in the case until Friday at 2 p.m. eastern to submit one of two things, either the Government stipulates that the question is not included on the form, or to submit a proposed schedule order for how the case is to move forward.
The confusion over the appearance or non-appearance of the question on the Census stems from a Supreme Court ruling that was issued last week that called the Government’s reason for adding the question in the first place, were “contrived.”
During the press gaggle on Friday, the President was asked if he was upset with Ross over the statement he issued regarding the non-addition of the Citizenship question to which he replies, “no, he made a statement. He wrote something out, the judge didn’t like it.”
The Washington Post was the first to report that the Administration might use an Executive Order to add the question.
Trump has talked of issuing an executive order to the Commerce Department to try to forge a new legal avenue for the citizenship question, having picked up that idea from conservative allies, according to a senior administration official.
The Washington Post.
Sources familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News, that discussions of using an Executive Order to add the question had occurred, but another source as of Thursday told them, that an Executive Order was not part of the DOJ deliberations as they prepare to answer the Maryland Court on Friday afternoon.
For What It’s Worth.
At this time it’s unclear how the President would be allowed to use an Executive Order to overrule the Supreme Court.
The President’s press gaggle occurred while he was waiting to depart D.C., for New Jersey.
According to the pool report, Trump has arrived at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, NJ.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 5, 2019
This is Trump’s 201st day at a Trump golf club and 268th day at a Trump property as president.
Update.
The Government has told the Judge in Maryland that at this time they have not decided if they plan to adopt a “new rationale” to adding the citizenship on the census, but if they do adopt one, they will notify the court, “immediately.”
The Department of Justice also told Judge Hazel they feel discovery at this time would be premature.
The DOJ filing can be found @ document.cloud.
BREAKING: @TheJusticeDept says it hasn't decided on whether to adopt "new rationale" for the citizenship question, more discovery would be "premature" in the #2020Census litigation, and the final judgment should remain in place. @CourthouseNews
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) July 5, 2019
Doc: https://t.co/3AXmlqvfAC pic.twitter.com/Qi92t1wM2n
If the Commerce Sec. adopts a "new rationale" for adding the question, that would be a new final agency action, and DOJ says the groups that sued before would be entitled to challenge it pic.twitter.com/rSrzHQVpw2
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) July 5, 2019
What's missing from DOJ's status report: Any sort of timeline for the admin's review of whether to adopt a "new rationale" for the citizenship Q after SCOTUS found the old reason "contrived." A 25-day clock has been ticking since the SCOTUS decision on 6/27 to ask for a rehearing
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) July 5, 2019
Notably no mention of a possible executive order or the "four or five ways" that Trump suggested might be on the table, per pool report earlier today
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) July 5, 2019
This post might be updated.
