The divided House Thursday passed legislation to make Washington D.C. the 51st state and to grant its more than 700,000 residents full representation in Congress.
The strictly party-line vote in the House was 216 to 208, with all Republicans rejecting the statehood bill, dubbed H.R. 51. The legislation has the support from President Biden but faces long odds of passing in the 50-50 split Senate.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., cheered the passage as a “momentous day for American democracy.” Democrats argued statehood was a matter of civil rights and a necessary step to right a historic injustice of taxing D.C. residents without affording them any representation in Congress.
D.C. residents pay more federal taxes than 21 states, have a larger budget than 12 states & have a population larger than two states. The House will pass the Washington, D.C. Admission Act so residents will be closer to gaining the rights that they are fighting for and deserve. pic.twitter.com/OWEQcKRsRu
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) April 22, 2021
The House is voting today on making D.C. the 51st state.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) April 22, 2021