House votes to make Washington DC a state

Symbolic victory will meet fierce Republican opposition in Senate

House Democrats agreed to transform Washington DC into the nation's 51st state, which would grant full voting representation to the capital city's more than 700,000 residents.

If approved, the "DC" of District of Columbia would become Douglass Commonwealth, honouring abolitionist Frederick Douglass, and its statehood would create one congressional seat and two senators. It's the first time Congress has advanced a measure to declare DC a state.

The legislation has 227 co-sponsors in the House and 40 in the Senate – all Democrats – but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, has expressed he would not bring the bill up for a vote in his chamber. Donald Trump has also promised to veto the measure.

Still, it marks a massive symbolic milestone after several failed legislative attempts and decades of pressure from statehood advocates, voting rights activists and officials who have urged lawmakers to fully enfranchise DC's residents. The city is more than 47 per cent black but a majority of its residents are minorities. Proponents for statehood have argued its status amounts to voter suppression.

Though they pay taxes, DC residents are given little recourse for how federal taxpayer dollars are spent without having their own elected officials to hold accountable. Instead, a "delegate" who can't vote on any measure on the floor represents the district in Congress.

Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton argues that the city's population, tax base and bond rating justify its statehood.

Statehood efforts have faced stiff opposition from Republicans, whose ranks in Congress are not likely to increase in the mostly Democrat city in the event DC becomes a state. Among DC voters, the Democratic presidential nominee has earned roughly 89 per cent of the vote since 2000.

Opponents argue that DC could instead be absorbed by Maryland, a neighbouring state, or suggested the Democrat-led effort is merely political posturing.

Only one Democrat, Minnesota's Collin Peterson, voted against the measure, along with 178 Republicans.

The city's unique governing structure is headed by its mayor (currently Muriel Bowser) and a city council under a "home rule" governance that grants Congress official jurisdiction over the city.

Mayor Bowser and other DC officials have attacked the president's recent "occupation" of DC by federal troops during police brutality protests.

During a Thursday press conference, she said that while she was born into the city without full voting representation, "I swear I will not die here without a vote."

She said Republican opposition to the district's statehood amounts to claims "that we're too liberal, or we're too black, or there are too many Democrats."

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden also supports statehood.