US House votes to make Washington DC the 51st state, but Senate fight looms
- Republicans oppose the idea given that the new state would be overwhelmingly Democratic
- The Senate is split 50-50 with Vice-President Kamala Harris as the tiebreaker. But it takes 60 senators to break a concerted filibuster attempt
A decades-long movement to reshape the American political map took a further step Thursday as the House of Representatives approved a bill to make the nation’s capital the 51st state.
Approval came by a 216-208 vote along strict party lines. Republicans oppose the idea given that the new state would be overwhelmingly Democratic – and the proposal faces a far tougher road in the Senate, where even full Democratic support isn’t guaranteed.
The legislation proposes creating a 51st state with one representative and two senators, while a tiny sliver of land including the White House, the US Capitol and the National Mall would remain as a federal district.
Instead of the District of Columbia, the new state would be known as Washington, Douglass Commonwealth – named after famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who lived in Washington from 1877 until his death in 1895.
This vote comes at a critical time when Americans nationwide are eager to deliver on the promise of liberty and justice for all
An identical statehood bill passed the House in 2020, but died in the then-Republican-controlled Senate. Now, with the 2020 elections leaving Democrats controlling both chambers of Congress and the White House, Republican senators may resort to a filibuster to stymie the statehood bill.
The Senate is split 50-50 with Vice-President Kamala Harris as the tiebreaker. But it takes 60 senators to break a concerted filibuster attempt.