Attorney General William Barr said Monday that the Justice Department has a new legal strategy for adding a question about citizenship status onto the 2020 census, according to a new report.
“I think over the next day or two you’ll see what approach we’re taking,” Barr told reporters in South Carolina. “And I think it does provide a pathway for getting the question on the census.”
The attempt by the Justice and Commerce departments to add the question was struck down by a recent 5-4 Supreme Court decision.
The comments from Barr follow Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec announcing that the DOJ was switching up its legal team in the census case. “As will be reflected in filings tomorrow in the census-related cases, the Department of Justice is shifting these matters to a new team of Civil Division lawyers going forward,” Kupec said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
“Since these cases began, the lawyers representing the United States in these cases have given countless hours to defending the Commerce Department and have consistently demonstrated the highest professionalism, integrity, and skill inside and outside the courtroom,” Kupec said. “The Attorney General appreciates that service, thanks them for their work on these important matters, and is confident that the new team will carry on in the same exemplary fashion as the cases progress.”
Last week, a federal judge ordered that discovery should move forward into the allegations of possible “discriminatory motive” behind the Trump administration’s efforts to add a citizenship question to the census.
The order from Judge George Hazel of the U.S. District Court for Maryland happened as the Justice Department said it was still looking for a new rationale for adding the citizenship question late last week.
After the Supreme Court blocked what it called “contrived” efforts to add the citizenship question, it looked like the Trump administration had given up on it, with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and the DOJ saying Tuesday that the Census Bureau would print the forms without the question.
But Trump tweeted Tuesday evening that he’d asked the Commerce and Justice departments “to do whatever is necessary to bring this most vital of questions, and this very important case, to a successful conclusion.”
Trump suggested there are still “four or five ways” to add the citizenship question to the census, including an executive order. Trump also said the government could start printing census surveys now and add an addendum later.
The Justice Department’s new attorneys have not yet provided their new argument.
