House to vote on admitting Washington, D.C., as a state

The House will vote on a bill to admit Washington, D.C. as the 51st state later this month, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said in a letter to colleagues on Tuesday. Although the measure is expected to pass in the House, it will likely stall in the Senate, as most Republicans have expressed opposition to admitting the nation's capital as a state.

The House approved a D.C. statehood measure by a vote of 232 to 180 last year, but it did not come to the floor of the Senate, which was then controlled by Republicans. Although Democrats now hold a 50-seat majority in the Senate, most legislation requires 60 votes to advance, and this bill is unlikely to garner support from ten Republicans. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has committed to bringing the measure to the floor for a vote, but a motion to end debate on the legislation would almost certainly fail. The legislation, titled H.R. 51, would create the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, named after Frederick Douglass. It would give D.C. two U.S. senators and a voting representative in the House, like every other state. The bill would also cordon off the White House, Capitol and National Mall to remain under federal control as the seat of the U.S. government.