D.C. Statehood Archives

Why DC Statehood Is So Difficult to Achieve

For years, activists had been working hard to admit Washington, D.C., as a state. The federal district, which lacks representation in Congress, contains more people than Wyoming and Vermont, and activists had insisted for years that leaving D.C. in a democratic limbo-land meant that over 700,000 Americans were not appropriately getting their voices heard in Congress.

DC Statehood Bill Introduced In US Senate

On Wednesday, Democrats once again reintroduced legislation in the House and Senate that would make Washington, D.C., the 51st state. The measure was reintroduced in the House after it died in the 116th Congress when the then-Republican-controlled Senate refused to hold a vote on the bill after it passed the house by Washington, D.C., Democratic Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, a nonvoting delegate representing the district in Congress, and in the Senate by Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del.

Should Washington, DC, Be a State?

Not too long ago, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives voted for a bill that would make Washington, D.C., the 51st state. The vote was divided cleanly along party lines – all Republicans voted no – and was 232–180. This is partially because making Washington, D.C., a state would guarantee Democrats two free senators, but there are other reasons, too.