D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) went to bat for the implementation of statehood for the District of Columbia at a House Oversight Committee hearing, and received fierce opposition from Republicans.
Bowser claims that the small city she leads lacks representation, and that D.C. deserves voting power equal to the 50 other states.
They say DC is too small, or our economy is not diverse enough. Even though we’re bigger by population than two states and pay more per capita than any state; we pay more in total federal taxes than 22 states.
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) March 22, 2021
No reason for this Congress not to right this wrong. #DCStatehood
"We are here to demand that the 220-year history of us not being represented in the capital of our country be corrected," Bowser said to the committee.
Democrats have attempted to pass legislation to make D.C. statehood a reality on multiple occasions, but Republicans remain opposed to handing Democrats two additional Senate seats, a move that the GOP says is unconstitutional.
Rep. James Comer (R-KY) took on Bowser’s demand, citing the political gains in store for Democrats if D.C. were to gain statehood.
“Today is all about creating two new Democratic senate seats...Speaker Pelosi is stepping in with an unconstitutional bill to make Washington, D.C., a city smaller than Columbus, Ohio and a city that just so happens to be 90 percent Democratic, the 51st state,” Comer said at the hearing.
#DCStatehood is about one thing: creating two new Democratic US Senate seats.
— Rep. James Comer (@RepJamesComer) March 22, 2021
HR 51 is Plan B of @SpeakerPelosi's democratic power grab (Plan A went down in flames when Joe Manchin came out against ending the filibuster). pic.twitter.com/qwqrLvfDb1
House Democrats passed legislation recognizing D.C. statehood over the summer, but the bill is highly unlikely to clear the 60-vote threshold to pass the Senate.