On Thursday, the House of Representatives will vote on whether to make Washington, D.C. a state.
Last week, the House Oversight Committee passed H.R. 51 by a margin of 25-19. The bill “Provides for admission into the United States of the state of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, composed of most of the territory of the District of Columbia.” No Republicans voted for the bill.
In the event that H.R. 51 passes the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, it is certain to be challenged.
The primary argument against D.C. statehood is that it violates the 23rd Amendment and is therefore unconstitutional. According to the 23rd Amendment, “The District constituting the seat of government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct: A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State.” How can D.C. possibly become a state when the Constitution explicitly refers to the area “as if it were a state”?
Last week, twenty-two state Attorney Generals sent a letter to President Biden and Congress threatening legal action if Congress passes H.R. 51. To quote the letter, “If this Congress passes and President Biden signs this Act into law, we will use every legal tool at our disposal to defend the United States Constitution and the rights of our states from this unlawful effort to provide statehood to the District of Columbia…not only does Congress lack the authority to create an entirely new state out of the District, but it also does not have the authority to reduce the size of the District to the equivalent of a few federal buildings and surrounding parks.” The letter was signed by Republican Attorney Generals from the states of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.
H.R. 51 is just the latest radical bill to advance in the House of Representatives. The radical 117th Congress has also passed legislation to federalize elections, eliminate the legal recognition of the sexes, legalize millions of illegal immigrants, and criminalize private gun sales.
As of now, H.R. 51 would likely fail in the Senate since it would require at least 10 Republican votes to pass. However, Democrats would be able to pass H.R. 51 and other radical legislation if they elect to abolish the filibuster.
“Moderate” Democrat Senators, such as Senator Manchin, have recently claimed that they will not vote to abolish the filibuster. To quote Senator Manchin, “Every time the Senate voted to weaken the filibuster in the past decade, the political dysfunction and gridlock have grown more severe.” However, many Democrats that now fervently oppose the filibuster defended it in the past. For example, back in 2005, Barack Obama claimed, “If the majority chooses to end the filibuster if they choose to change the rules and put an end to Democratic debate, then the fighting and the bitterness and the gridlock will only get worse.” Now, Obama publicly refers to the filibuster as a “Jim Crow relic.” Likewise, back in 2005, Joe Biden claimed, “The Senate ought not to act rashly by changing its rules to satisfy a strong-willed majority acting in the heat of the moment.” Biden now agrees with Obama’s claim that the filibuster is a “Jim Crow relic” and “strongly supports” reforming the filibuster.
Joe Biden is also making moves behind the scenes to attempt to get additional support on radical Democrat legislation from Senator Manchin by gifting government positions. Biden recently appointed Gayle Manchin, Senator Joe Manchin’s wife, to co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission. She will now receive a hefty annual salary of approximately $163,000.
Do not put it past the leftist Democrats to attempt to abolish the filibuster to enact their radical agenda. They are on a mission to fundamentally change our country from a constitutional republic to one of one-party rule.