US House Passes DC Statehood Bill on Party-Line Vote

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that would make Washington, D.C., the 51st state, sending it to the U.S. Senate for consideration.

The measure, sponsored by D.C. House Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and aptly titled House Bill 51, passed on a straight 216-208 vote. A statehood bill passed the House in 2020 but died in the then-Republican controlled Senate. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Shumer has promised to see the measure at least gets consideration in a committee. Republicans in Congress staunchly oppose the bill, calling it a “power grab” by Democrats, as a vast majority of the city’s population supports them, which could result in more congressional seats for the Democratic Party.