House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) claimed Monday the Trump administration’s efforts to add a question on citizenship to the census in 2020 is an attempt to “make America white again.”
Pelosi’s jab comes after President Donald Trump said he is considering an executive order to include the question on the census.
“We’re thinking about doing that. It’s one of the ways. We have four or five ways we can do it. We’re doing well on the census,” he told reporters last Friday.
In June, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to block the question’s addition to the 2020 census, though a majority of justices said that posing the question is legal under federal law and the U.S. Constitution.
Roberts stated that “the decision to reinstate a citizenship question cannot be adequately explained in terms of DOJ’s request for improved citizenship data to better enforce the VRA.”
“I have a lot of respect for Justice Roberts, but he didn’t like it. But he did say come back,” the president said of Roberts’ opinion. “Essentially he said, ‘come back.’ That’s what he was saying. So we’ll see what happens. We can also add an addendum on so we can start the printing now and maybe do an addendum after we get a positive decision.”
The Department of Justice has said that although the government has already begun to create the census, it will attempt to include the citizenship question. The agency’s remarks followed statements from officials indicating the question would be left off the questionnaire. At the time, Pelosi praised the news, calling it a welcomed “development for our democracy.”
“House Democrats will be vigilant to ensure a full, fair and accurate Census,” the speaker added. “We will continue to advance strong legislation to secure critical funding to guarantee maximum participation and inclusion so that every person in every community is counted.”
Despite fierce opposition from the left, a move to add the question is popular among the majority of Americans. A Harvard CAPS/Harris poll published last Tuesday shows 67 percent of voters believe the government should be allowed to ask U.S. residents about their citizenship.
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