The House passed the Washington, D.C. Admission Act (H.R. 51) in 2021 by a 232-180 vote, the first time either congressional chamber approved D.C. statehood, but the bill died in the Senate where Republicans hold enough seats to sustain a filibuster. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton reintroduced the bill in 2023 and 2025, though prospects remain bleak without 60 Senate votes or filibuster reform.
The statehood movement seeks to convert most of Washington, D.C.''s residential areas into a new state called Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, leaving only federal buildings (Capitol, White House, Supreme Court, National Mall) as the constitutionally required federal district. The new state would gain two senators and one representative, giving 712,000 residents—more people than Wyoming or Vermont—full voting representation. Democrats support statehood because it would likely add two Democratic senators, while Republicans oppose it for the same reason and argue the Constitution requires a federal district. D.C. residents pay federal taxes at high rates but have no Senate votes, prompting license plates reading "Taxation Without Representation."