The Trump administration was dealt a stinging blow last month when the U.S. Supreme Court rejected its explanation for why a contentious citizenship question should be included in the 2020 census. The court rebuked the administration for providing a “contrived” rationale; it was “more of a distraction,” the court asserted, than an actual reason. Trump officials are now facing accusations that their invention of a false rationale for the question was an attempt to cover up the real ― and racially charged ― motivation behind it. On Tuesday, Furman signed an order permanently blocking the Trump administration from adding the citizenship question to the 2020 census. Trump said that he had instead signed an executive order instructing agencies to turn over data on citizenship to the Commerce Department.

Source: Huffington Post July 17, 2019 11:26 UTC