(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would commission a new census in a post on Truth Social.
I have instructed our Department of Commerce to immediately begin work on a new and highly accurate CENSUS based on modern day facts and figures and, importantly, using the results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024. People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
President Donald Trump
Census population surveys are typically done every 10 years to help draw Congressional districts. The most recent one was in 2020, and states adjusted their districts in time for the 2022 general election. It’s rare for states to redraw their maps after they’ve been set following a census.
A bid to use a pre-2030 census to reapportion the number of House seats each state gets will likely receive a legal challenge. The Constitution directs apportioning to be done “within every subsequent Term of ten Years.”
Excluding non-citizens will also likely start a legal fight. The same section of the Constitution calls on all “persons” to be counted and does not specify their citizenship status.
Trump’s announcement comes as Texas pushes to redraw its Congressional district map. Texas Democrats did not have enough votes to block the measure, so they fled the state to avoid giving the legislature the quorum it needed to vote.
The effort has kicked off similar pushes in other states. California and New York have vowed to do the same to offset likely Democratic Party losses in the Lone Star State, while Vice President JD Vance heads to Indiana to gauge Gov. Mike Braun’s openness to finding another Republican seat in that state.