For the second time in history, one chamber of Congress has passed legislation to make the District of Columbia the 51^st state. Led by a Democrat majority, the House of Representatives passed the Washington, D.C. Admission Act (H.R. 51/S. 51) on April 22, 2021, arguing that statehood is about representation. The vote was 216-208.

Evidence points more to it being a political power grab with the intent of changing the balance of power in the U.S. Senate. Making the District a state would allow a tiny number of residents the same number of electors as the state of Rhode Island, giving it a disproportionate advantage in the Electoral College.

It would also make the federal government dependent on that newly created state for public services. The Constitution calls for a federal district, in part, to keep any one state from being disproportionately helped—or burdened—by the operational needs of the federal government. Turning a majority of the District into a state would violate that principle.