WASHINGTON, D.C. – Government accountability group Restore Public Trust released the following statement in response to President Trump’s apparent reversal of his Justice Department’s decision to drop the census citizenship question.

“We are watching another Trump temper tantrum playing out in real-time. Rather than accept defeat in his legally dubious quest to use the U.S. Census for the benefit of Republican political interests, he is once again weaponizing the Department of Justice to advance his agenda,” said Karl Frisch, a senior advisor to Restore Public Trust.

 “The citizenship question is a direct threat to our democracy and Americans deserve to know the full extent that Trump officials are willing to go to disenfranchise the Latinx community. Congress has a responsibility to investigate the real motivations behind Attorney General Barr, Secretary Ross, and President Trump’s weaponizing of this non-partisan tool.”

Last week after the Supreme Court dealt the Trump administration a setback on the issue, the DOJ indicated it would begin printing the Census without the controversial question.