Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said you need the census citizenship question “for many reasons.”

“No. 1, you need it for Congress — you need it for Congress for districting,” he said. “You need it for appropriations — where are the funds going? How many people are there? Are they citizens? Are they not citizens? You need it for many reasons.”

Take note of that first one. Not only was a redistricting rationale not mentioned by the administration in its failed legal defense of the question; it was actually something that the other side argued was the administration’s true motivation. The plaintiffs in the case — and many who oppose the citizenship question — have argued that this is a thinly veiled attempt by Republicans to gain a potential game-changing tool in redistricting.

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What’s more, in arguments to the Supreme Court, U.S. Solicitor General Noel J. Francisco said explicitly that drawing the districts according to citizen voting-age population was not part of the administration’s rationale.