Democrats have embraced the push over GOP resistance, particularly in an effort to provide voting rights to a large population of Black Americans.
The House on Friday voted to establish the District of Columbia as the nation’s 51st state, marking the first time that either chamber of Congress has agreed to give congressional representation to the nation’s capital.
All but one Democrat voted in favor of D. C. statehood, elevating a decades-old push that has gained prominence in recent weeks as a glaring example of how a large Black population has long been disenfranchised. Zero Republicans backed the bill on the 232-180 vote.
The bill would allow D. C. — a city of 700,000 that has historically voted Democratic — to elect one member to the House and two to the Senate. Republicans have staunchly opposed the move, which would mark a seismic shift in the upper chamber by adding two senators, likely to benefit Democrats for years to come.
But Democrats bristled at the GOP’s rationale for opposition. “That shouldn’t be how we have enfranchisement in our country — what’s the nature of our vote?” Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters.
