(Fox)
President Trump vowed Thursday to try delaying the 2020 census after the Supreme Court blocked, for now, his administration's plan to include a question that inquires about citizenship status.
The court had said that the administration's explanation for adding the question was insufficient and sent it back to the lower courts for further consideration. The ruling marked a major setback for the administration. While more lower-court litigation is possible, it would be difficult for the government to get the question on the census in time for the forms to be printed by their original self-declared summer deadline.
But Trump raised the possibility of a delay until a final resolution by the courts. In a fiery Twitter response to the narrow ruling, Trump said it "seems totally ridiculous" for the government not to ask such a "basic question."
"I have asked the lawyers if they can delay the Census, no matter how long, until the ... United States Supreme Court is given additional information from which it can make a final and decisive decision on this very critical matter," he said.
It remains unclear whether a delay is possible for the population count that is supposed to be conducted every 10 years. The Justice Department said in a statement it was "disappointed" by the decision.
"The Department of Justice will continue to defend this administration's lawful exercise of executive power," DOJ spokesperson Kelly Laco said.
The 5-4 court majority raised concerns about the Trump administration’s explanations for their proposal. The ruling, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, said that the court was presented "with an explanation for agency action that is incongruent with what the record reveals about the agency’s priorities and decisionmaking process."
He added that the court "cannot ignore the disconnect between the decision made and the explanation given."
The Supreme Court majority concluded the executive branch has broad authority to decide what goes onto the census, saying the survey routinely asks a range of questions on the form, beyond the number of people in a household. Roberts wrote that "neither respondents nor my colleagues have been able to identify any relevant, judicially manageable limits on the Secretary's decision to put a core demographic question back on the census." Read more