As Democrats push to make Washington, D.C. the 51st state, a Republican senator is introducing a bill to make the city part of Maryland.
In a press release on Thursday, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) said, “Three months into the 117th Congress, it appears Democrats are determined to rush through power grab after power grab. Their latest effort to grant D.C. statehood is just another example of their political greediness and goal to alter the very fabric of our republic.”
“Americans recognize this blatant power grab intended to increase the number of Democrat Senators so they can enact their radical agenda and forever tip the scales of power in their favor. If the Democrats want D.C. statehood, make it part of Maryland,” he added.
Additionally, he introduced a resolution to repeal the 23rd Amendment which would strip Washington, D.C., of its current three electoral votes — if it became part of Maryland.
Marshall’s bill comes as the House voted 216-208 to pass legislation that would make Washington, D.C, the 51st state.
Democrats argue that the city with its 700,000 residents should receive representation in Congress. Currently, there is one non-voting delegate in the House and no senators. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said residents “pay taxes, fight in our wars, power our economy yet do not have a full voice in our democracy.”
Making it a state would provide the city with two senators which could change the balance of power in the Senate which is currently split 50-50.
Republicans contest that the push for statehood would require a Constitutional amendment and claim the city would not be able to govern effectively as a state. Additionally, they claim Democrats are hoping the heavily Democratic city would vote for two Democratic senators that would increase the party’s majority in the upper chamber.
Rep. James Comer (R., Ky.) claimed on Thursday that the push is “about Democrats adding two new progressive U.S. senators to push a radical agenda.”
If the current bill became law, most of the city would be renamed the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth. And an area that encompasses the White House, Supreme Court, and Congress would remain Washington, D.C.
Due to the filibuster in the Senate, a procedural hurdle used to delay or derail legislation, most bills require 60 votes to pass. If all 50 Democrats voted in favor of statehood, they would need 10 Republicans to join them in voting in favor of the move — which is seen as unlikely.