Washington, D.C., Admission Act

[1] In 1790, the Congress passed the Residence Act, which legislated the foundation of a new, permanent national capital, to be located along the banks of the Potomac River, using land ceded to the federal government by Maryland and Virginia.Introduced by Representative Don Edwards of California, the proposed amendment was approved by Congress on August 22, 1978, and dispatched to the states for ratification.In November 1993, a statehood bill made it to the full House of Representatives for debate and a vote for the first time, where it was defeated by a 277–153 margin.[17] In 2017, separate bills were introduced by the District's non-voting delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Tom Carper, a senator from Delaware, for statehood, which again failed to reach a vote.In the 2020 presidential election, 92% of votes in Washington, D.C., went to Joe Biden, the highest percentage across the entire country, which is a key reason why many Democrats have favored D.C. admission to the Union.[25] On April 13, 2021, a group of 22 Republican state attorneys general led by Alan Wilson sent a letter to President Biden to oppose D.C. statehood.[30] A poll conducted by YouGov in June 2020 following the passing of the bill by the House of Representatives during the 116th Congress found opinion remained divided on the issue, with 40% in favor of D.C.'s admission as a state and 41% opposed.[33][34] Voting for the bill in the House of Representatives was along party lines, with Democrats in favor of admitting the District of Columbia as a state and Republicans opposed.[36] The election of Joe Biden as president removed the threat of a presidential veto to such a bill, as Biden has declared his support to admitting D.C.[37] However, Mitch McConnell, the then-Senate majority leader, made it clear that while there remains a Republican majority in the Senate, any D.C. admission bill would not be granted a vote on the floor of the Senate.[38][39] On January 6, following the victory of the two Democratic candidates in the Senate elections in Georgia that gave the Democrats the majority, the mayor of Washington, D.C., Muriel Bowser, issued a statement renewing the call for statehood for the District, stating her desire to see a Statehood bill on the desk of President Biden within 100 days of the start of the new Congress.[40] The same day, the storming and occupation of the United States Capitol by supporters of President Trump led to calls from others for the District's status to be changed; because of its status, the activation of the District of Columbia National Guard to assist local law enforcement required the consent of the secretary of the Army, while the governors of Virginia and Maryland were able to activate units of their states' National Guard directly.
Washington, D.C.118th United States CongressEleanor Holmes NortonOversight and Reform116th United States Congresscountry's118th CongressesUnited States House of RepresentativesConstitution of the United StatesCongressResidence ActPotomac RiverMarylandVirginiaGeorgetown, Marylandpoetic name for the United StatesDistrict of Columbia Organic ActTwenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitutionpresidential electionnon-voting delegateHouse of RepresentativesDistrict of Columbia Home Rule Actcity councilconstitutional amendmentDon EdwardsCaliforniaDistrict of Columbia Voting Rights AmendmentDistrict of Columbia statehood movementconstitutional conventionconstitutionshadow congressional delegationMuriel BowserreferendumFrederick DouglassTom CarperDelaware2018 electionDemocratic PartyNancy Pelosispeaker of the House of Representativesco-sponsors51st stateWhite HouseUnited States CapitolUnited States Supreme Court BuildingNational MallJohn A. Wilson Buildingstate capitolcensusreapportionment23rd AmendmentCouncil of the District of ColumbiaJoe BidenAlan WilsonUS Supreme CourtDusty JohnsonLouie GohmertRoger MarshallJoe ManchinYouGovData for ProgressprogressiveFiveThirtyEightRasmussen ReportsTrump administrationelectionMitch McConnellSenate majority leadernew session of Congressstorming and occupation of the United States Capitol by supporters of President TrumpDistrict of Columbia National Guardsecretary of the Armygovernors of VirginiaNational Guard116th Congress117th Congress118th Congress119th CongressChris Van HollenPuerto Rico Status ActNational Archives and Records AdministrationNational Park ServiceAmerican Bar Association