House 'Likely' To Pass DC Statehood Bill In Coming Days: Report

WASHINGTON, DC -- In what would be a monumental step forward in terms of recognizing D.C. as the 51st state, a statehood bill appears poised to pass the House of Representatives, according to a report.

A columnist for the New Yorker, Osita Nwanevu, states that the House will vote on and "likely pass" HR 51 in the coming days. The bill, introduced by D.C. delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, has 200 co-sponsors.

The measure is certain to fail in the Republican-controlled Senate, and even if it didn't the president would veto it, but it would represent the closest D.C. has ever come to being granted statehood. It also suggests that, if Democrats were to retake control of the Senate and presidency in 2020, D.C. statehood could finally become a reality (although they would likely need to eliminate the legislative filibuster to make it happen).

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The reasons Republicans are steadfastly opposed to D.C. statehood are straightfoward: the District's 700,000 residents vote Democrat overwhelmingly, with 91 percent casting a ballot for Hillary Clinton in 2016 versus just 4 percent for Donald Trump. If D.C. were to be turned into a state, it would get two U.S. Senators and one Representative, all of whom certainly would be Democrats. Instead, Republicans argue it should either remain as it is or be absorbed into the state of Maryland, which is already heavily Democratic.

Companion legislation introduced in the Senate by Delaware Democrat Tom Carper has 28 co-sponsors, including virtually all Democrat candidates for president, according to the report. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is not expected to take up the legislation at all, so it most likely won't get a vote.

"In 2017, when Republicans tried to rip away health care from millions of Americans, including tens of thousands of people in D.C., Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton didn’t have a vote," Sen. Elizabeth Warren said in the report. "This is not right. The right to vote is at the heart of our democracy."

PHOTO: LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 05: Senator Paul Strauss and actor Jonathan Banks attend The Creative Coalition DC Statehood Dinner on December 5, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images for The Creative Coalition)