Mayor Muriel Bowser Continues Advocacy: ‘The Time for D.C. Statehood Is Now’

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said at a press conference on Thursday that Democrat majority in the House and Senate and Joe Biden in the White House means the stars are aligned to make the District of Columbia the 51st state.

“Statehood is really the only way that we can fulfill full American citizenship,” Bowser said. “Having one vote [in the House] out of 435 is certainly better than no votes but having two senators is the only way that we can ensure full representation in the American system.”

Bowser cited a tweet posted by Democrat Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

“And he said very straightforwardly — I’m paraphrasing — but the time for D.C. statehood is now,” Bowser said.

“You’ve heard also in the last week that President Biden affirmed his support for D.C. statehood and you know we’ve already had a successful House vote,” Bowser said.

As the Washington Post explained, it will not be a simple thing to accomplish:

Those opposed to making D.C. a state have argued that statehood for D.C. can’t happen without a constitutional amendment. They say the founders intended the entire District to serve as the seat of the federal government, not as a state. But legislation put forth by nonvoting Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) every year since 1991 would not eliminate the “seat of government” that the Constitution calls for. Instead, H.R. 51 would shrink the national capital to a small complex of federal buildings, while allowing the rest of the District to become a state.

Proponents of statehood argue that this plan preserves the federal enclave — whose only requirement is that it can’t exceed 10 square miles — and escapes the need for a constitutional amendment.

Outstanding questions remain over what would happen to the three electoral college votes currently afforded to the District when it becomes a smaller federal enclave. Some have wondered whether the 23rd Amendment would have to be repealed so that the few residents of the federal enclave — namely, those residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue — don’t retain them.

Bowser said the District has done its job to advance statehood and now it is up to Congress.

“We have done all of the work that we needed to do to make all of those leaders be ready to move and we will continue to work with them in any way possible,” Bowser said.

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