A Year to Remember

Mayor Muriel Bowser hands House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md) a 51-star flag during the news conference announcing the date of the House vote on DC statehood.

Caroline Brehman/CQ Roll Call

Statehood advocates greeted 2020 with optimism and expectations of historic success for DC statehood. They looked forward to a vote by the House Committee early in the year and an affirmative vote of the full House in the spring. On February 11, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform debated H.R. 51, approved it on a party line vote, and sent it to the full House.¹

Optimism gave way to anxiety in mid-March, as the coronavirus pandemic sent everyone, including the United States Congress, home and put a great many expectations on hold.

Protests over the police killing of George Floyd in late May triggered a new and frightening form of federal interference in DC. In the early evening of June 1, people participating in a peaceful demonstration in Lafayette Park were suddenly pushed out of the park and onto H and 16 Streets by Secret Service officials, Park Police, and National Guard. The fleeing demonstrators were then scattered by the downdraft from a very low-flying Army helicopter. For nearly a week, DC residents had to put up with unwanted and unneeded National Guardsman from 11 states and law enforcement officers from numerous federal agencies who wore no identifying badges or insignias. Mayor Bowser strongly objected to the occupation. DC’s status as the seat of the U.S. Government makes it a convenient target for the abuse of federal authority.²

In early June, when Washingtonians felt very much under siege, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s statement provided a needed morale boost: ”President Trump’s behavior in the District of Columbia in recent days . . . has underscored in dramatic terms the urgency of giving the District the same constitutional rights and authorities that the nation’s 50 states have had since 1789,” he declared as he promised that there would be a House vote on DC statehood legislation in 2020. Less than two weeks later, Hoyer held a press conference to announce that the House vote on H.R. 51 would take place on June 26.³

The day before the vote, every member of the House of Representatives received a letter from DC Vote and over 140 local and national organizations, urging all members of Congress to vote for H.R.51.⁴

With 227 cosponsors of the bill, the positive outcome of the vote on June 26 was not in doubt, but it was a thrill for statehood advocates to hear their Delegate and a dozen members of Congress champion DC statehood on the floor of the House of Representatives. The 232 to 180 vote in favor of H.R. 51 was a powerful affirmation of the “Case for Statehood” introduced 50 years ago by Sam Smith: “Statehood is a clear, just, and attainable goal to which District residents can aspire….Our right is entire membership in the United States of America as the 51st state.”⁵

This Fall, the most important of elections is on the horizon. It’s impossible to foresee the impact it will have on DC, our nation, and the world. One prediction, however, is certain to come true: In 2021, Washingtonians will be advocating for DC statehood.

¹ “D.C. Statehood Bill Advances to House Floor;” Washington Post, Feb 11, 2020.

² “Tensions Rise After Midnight Outside White House as Police Fire Pepper Bullets, Set Off Fireworks,” Washington Post, June 3, 2020; “In District, Federal Forces Rile Officials,” Washington Post, June 5, 2020.

³ “Hoyer: D.C. Statehood Bill to Get House Vote Before Year’s End,” Washington Post, June 4, 2020; “Hoyer Sets June 26 Date for Historic House Vote on D.C. Statehood Bill,” Washington Post, June 15, 2020.

⁴ Recollection of the author, Elinor Hart.

⁵ “D.C. Statehood Approved by U.S. House for First Time in History,” Washington Post, June 26, 2020.