Trump calls for delay of 2020 census following Supreme Court setback on citizenship question

Posted at 2:55 PM, Jun 27, 2019
and last updated 2019-06-27 15:27:19-04

In response to the Supreme Court's ruling that his administration cannot include a question asking about citizenship on the 2020 Census under the reasoning the Trump administration provided, President Donald Trump Thursday called for the census to be delayed.

"Seems totally ridiculous that our government, and indeed Country, cannot ask a basic question of Citizenship in a very expensive, detailed and important Census, in this case for 2020. 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. Can anyone really believe that as a great Country, we are not able the ask whether or not someone is a Citizen. Only in America!" Trump said in a span of two tweets.

As part of its ruling, the Supreme Court said the Trump administraiton could offer a new explanation for including a citizenship test, but that it's unlikely the administration would be able to do so before the next census begins in 2020.

The US Census was set up in Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution. It's taken place on time every 10 years since 1790. The census, or counting of the population, determines how many seats each state receives in the House of Representatives and helps states determine district maps.