For the first time ever, legislation to make the District of Columbia the 51^st state passed a Chamber of Congress of June 25, 2020. The U.S. House of Representatives, led by a Democrat majority, passed the Washington, D.C. Admission Act (H.R. 51), arguing it’s about representation.

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. This legislation currently sits in the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs and has not yet been addressed.