Senate Democrats introduce bill to give statehood to DC

Senate Democrats have introduced a bill that would grant the rights and privileges of statehood to Washington, DC. The bill, brought by Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), would add two senators to the legislative branch of the federal government, and those are likely to be Democrats.

If DC statehood becomes a reality, the party balance in the Senate would likely skew further to the left. The bill to grant state-status to the nation's capital was first brought in 2013, according to The Hill.

In a statement, Carper said "This isn't a Republican or Democratic issue; it's an American issue because the lack of fair representation for DC residents is clearly inconsistent with the values on which this country was founded."

For the bill to pass, at least ten Republican senators would have to vote in favour of the legislation. However, Republicans are concerned that this push for DC statehood is more about Democrats securing two more seats in the Senate. President Biden is in favour of DC statehood.

If passed, Washington, DC would become the 51st state. DC Mayor Murial Bowser is also in favour of her city gaining more power at a federal level, and called for a vote on the issue prior to the riot at Capitol Hill on Jan. 6.

"Just like the millions of Americans who voted nationwide and the thousands who organized and voted in Georgia," Bowser said, "we are ready to build a more perfect union—one in which all voices are heard, one in which we work together to uplift families in cities, and suburbs, and small towns, and one in which the 712,000 residents of Washington, DC have full access to our nation's democracy."

Bowser's stated equivalency of the Georgia senate elections, which ushered in two Democrat senators on Jan. 5, flipping the control in the senate from Republican to Democrat, gives proof to Republicans' concerns that the push for DC statehood is more of a power grab than a measure to give greater representation to the 700,000 residents of the nation's capital.