Washington, D.C. — Following reports that President Donald Trump is considering an executive order or other directive to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, Sam Berger, vice president of Democracy and Government Reform at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement:
This is nothing short of open defiance of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. It’s part of a disturbing pattern for this president to abuse his power and disregard the Constitution when he doesn’t get his way. When President Trump failed to get his border wall, he tried to make an illegal end-run around the Constitution there too. This may work in authoritarian regimes—but not in a democracy. Just as courts have responded by stopping Trump’s illegal border wall maneuver, whatever contrived excuse he comes up with today should be rejected.
For more information or to talk to an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at [email protected] or 202-478-6327.