The US House of Representatives passed the bill to grant statehood to the District of Columbia with a 216-208 vote on Thursday.
Known as DC Statehood Bill HR 51, the legislation will need to receive 60 votes in the Senate to break a possible filibuster attempt for DC to become the nation’s 51st state.
All the votes to approve the bill were from House Democrats, while Republicans argue that DC statehood is against the Constitution and it would mean a “power grab” by Democrats with two more Democratic senators.
.@HouseDemocrats passed Congresswoman @EleanorNorton’s H.R. 51, the #DCstatehood bill, to FINALLY give D.C. residents the representation they deserve.
The Senate can and must do the same. pic.twitter.com/Nd9iMCJ3nL
— Oversight Committee (@OversightDems) April 22, 2021
“Today’s victory was historic, both for D.C. residents and for the cause of D.C. statehood,” said DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, who is behind the bill. “For only the second time in history, the House passed the D.C. statehood bill. With Democrats in control of the Senate and White House, and with 54% of Americans supporting the bill, we have never been in a better position to achieve D.C. statehood.”
According to Norton, Congress has the moral obligation to pass H.R. 51, and it is authorized to do so based on the Constitution, as the country “was founded on the principles of no taxation without representation and consent of the governed,” and it is not the case for DC residents.
Norton, DC’s non-voting delegate in the House, has introduced a statehood bill during each of her terms in Congress.
I was proud to vote yes on #DCStatehood.
Our nation was built on the promise that all of us are created equal & deserve an equal say in our democracy. For far too long, DC residents have been denied adequate representation & a vote in Congress.
It’s time to change that. pic.twitter.com/lG5CZU9ojM
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) April 22, 2021
In June 2020, a very similar DC statehood bill passed the House in a historic first, but it failed to pass the Senate, which was controlled by Republicans at the time.
It is expected that Republican senators may agree on a filibuster to block HR 51, since the Democrats now have control of the House, the Senate, and the White House.
Earlier this week, the White House released a statement, saying President Joe Biden’s administration is fully supporting the bill, and calling for “the Congress to provide for a swift and orderly transition to statehood for the people of Washington, D.C.”
Biden Administration Officially Expresses Support for DC Statehood