Officials said that Mr. Trump was briefed on the matter, but he was not warned of the political implications of giving up. Mr. Trump offered some support for Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary, who is responsible for the census, calling him a “good man.” Mr. Trump also said he had spoken to Attorney General William P. Barr about his options. “We have a number of avenues, we could use” all or one of them, Mr. Trump said. An emergency hearing was called by phone on Wednesday after Mr. Trump tweeted that the administration was looking for a path forward. An executive order from the president could be an attempt to speed the process to allow expedited court review of a new justification.

Source: New York Times July 05, 2019 16:54 UTC