Report: Sen. Mark Kelly Undecided on D.C. Statehood Legislation

Moderate Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) said Tuesday he is undecided on joining 44 senators in cosponsoring D.C. statehood legislation.

“I think all Americans have a right to equal representation … but I haven’t made a decision on it,” Kelly said, according to a report.

The Arizona senator said he would make a decision “based on what’s in the best interest of our country,” holding his cards close to the chest on whether he would even vote for the legislation.

Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), and Angus King (I-ME) have said they are a doubtful “no” vote.

The news comes as the Biden administration announced its support of D.C. statehood Tuesday, opposing previous Democrat administrations’ legal determinations of unconstitutionality.

“Establishing the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth as the 51st state will make our Union stronger and more just,” the Office of Management and Budget wrote.

However, “legal scholars and two Democrat administrations have opposed “D.C. statehood’s feasibility without a Constitutional amendment to the 23rd Amendment.” Breitbart News reported. “The Office of Legal Counsel in 2007 believed it was unconstitutional, the Justice Department under former President Reagan and former President Carter stated the transformation was unconstitutional, and so did Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, when he sat on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.”