Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) says President Joe Biden’s agenda would not be stalled in Congress if the nation’s capital was granted statehood and, therefore, two senators.
During an event on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Bowser said, “I came here today to make sure that no one forgets about Washington, D.C., because we cannot talk about voting rights without talking about the disenfranchisement of 700,000 taxpaying Americans right here in Washington, D.C. A legacy of slavery and Jim Crow America.”
“Today, we’re talking about the filibuster, but consider this: We wouldn’t even be in this situation if Washington, D.C., had two senators. The two senators we deserve. Because you know what, Washington, D.C., stands with the majority of our fellow Americans who are in favor of expanding and protecting the right to vote,” she added.
Watch the video below:
D.C.’s @MayorBowser: “We cannot talk about voting rights w/o talking about the disenfranchisement of 700,000 taxpaying Americans right here in Washington, D.C. A legacy of slavery & Jim Crow America … We would not even be in this situation if Washington, D.C., had two senators" pic.twitter.com/zZTz372Y8V
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) January 17, 2022
Currently, Washington, D.C., has one non-voting delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives and no senators. If it was granted statehood, it would be represented by two senators in the upper chamber.
The Senate is currently evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. Due to the 60 vote threshold, Biden’s agenda has largely stalled.
However, in his push to pass voting rights legislation, Biden has called for senators to make changes to the filibuster, which would let Democrats pass legislation with just 51 votes, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote. But, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Manchin have voiced opposition to the move.
Without Sinema or Manchin’s votes, Democrats would not be able to change the filibuster.
However, Bowser believes that the residents of Washington, D.C., would elect senators who would support changing the filibuster, which she says would overcome the move.
