Trump Plans to Bait Supreme Court Into Census Fight

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The Wall Street Journal says President Trump plans to defy the Supreme Court:

President Trump is expected to sign an executive action to attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 U.S. census, according to an administration official, a move that would prompt immediate challenges in court….“An executive order is the fastest way he can do something,” the administration official said Thursday.

I suppose speed is legitimately important, but my guess is that the real reason for an executive order is that it’s the most obvious way to show that nobody pushes around President Trump. At this point, impressing his base seems to be Trump’s primary motivation, and a boring rehash of the agency rulemaking process won’t do that. An executive order televised live on Fox and leading to an immediate battle with the Supreme Court will.