The campaign for Washington, D.C., to become the 51st state has been gaining momentum in the
Democratic Party, The
Washington Post reports. Several Democratic lawmakers, like Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), said the urgency stems both from a "powerful democratic imperative for getting everybody equal political rights and representation" and also the sense that "the
Senate has become the principal obstacle to social progress across a whole range of issues." In other words, two more senators from the heavily blue capital city would diminish the skew toward lower-population, Republican-leaning states in the chamber.
But as the idea becomes more and more of a priority for
Democrats, it's also glaring brighter on the
Republican Party's radar. "Our base is concerned," Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), the top Republican on the House Oversight and Reform Committee, told the Post. "This is the first step of their political power grab. And we're going to make sure that America knows what they're trying to do and why it wasn't created as a state to begin with."
In reaction to Comer's quote, CBS News' Wesley Lowery argued against the idea that the D.C. statehood movement is just a Democratic "power grab" in disguise, noting that he'd like to hear a counterargument about why the city's population should continue to be taxed without any votes in
Congress. Read more at The
Washington Post.