Is DC Statehood Off the Table?
New developments mean the outlook for the District of Columbia (DC) becoming the 51st state isn’t as promising as it was when we wrote about it last week.
The proposal has received the green light from POTUS and top Democrats, but it faces daunting odds in the Senate, where a handful of Democrats still aren’t on board. Once considered a fringe cause pushed by area locals, the vast majority of Democratic lawmakers are now on the record supporting statehood. Unfortunately for them, in a 50-50 senate “the vast majority” isn’t enough, and they aren’t likely to get any Republican support much less enough to pass the 60-vote filibuster threshold.
At least five Democratic senators haven’t said if they’ll support it or not due to either not having enough information about what’s in the bill, or because they have too many other issues on their plate right now. This group includes Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Angus King (I-ME), who caucuses with the Democrats, Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Krysten Sinema (D-AZ), who hasn’t weighed in at all. |