Mayor Wants Washington, D.C. to Become 51st State

The Washington, D.C. mayor has called for a vote this year on statehood for the nation’s capital.

Speaking Friday at an event commemorating the district’s emancipation from slavery, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said, “I propose we take another bold step toward democracy in the District of Columbia,” according to the Washington Post. “It’s going to require that we send a bold message to the Congress and the rest of the country, that we demand not only a vote in the House of Representatives. We demand two senators—the full rights of citizenship in this great nation.”

Bowser called for a citywide vote on the issue in November. She is already in a fight with Congress over its authority on local spending in D.C.; this year, for the first time in history, she plans to enact a local budget without congressional appropriation.