Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie believes efforts by Democrats to make Washington, D.C., the 51st state are “unconstitutional.”
Tweeting on Saturday morning, Massie said the bill, which is expected to be defeated easily by the GOP-controlled Senate, was a “farcical” idea that would need to be achieved through a constitutional amendment instead of congressional legislation.
“I’ll be voting no on the farcical DC statehood bill,” Massie wrote. “It’s unconstitutional. The Constitution prescribes a federal city, and the 23rd amendment gives DC 3 presidential electors. Statehood for DC requires a Constitutional amendment, not a simple bill.”
I’ll be voting no on the farcical DC statehood bill. It’s unconstitutional.
The Constitution prescribes a federal city, and the 23rd amendment gives DC 3 presidential electors.
Statehood for DC requires a Constitutional amendment, not a simple bill.https://t.co/OYXuI5nzVQ
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) June 20, 2020
House Democrats eager to pass the legislation cited the Trump administration’s decision to use chemical agents to disperse a group of destructive protesters in Lafayette Park on June 6 who refused to abide by the city’s curfew.
“We both agreed this was an appropriate time to bring a bill forward to show respect for the citizens of the District of Columbia,” said Majority Leader Steny Hoyer this week.
Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has also led calls for statehood, said her city did not need extra troops brought in by the Trump administration to protect the White House from protesters who clashed with Secret Service guards in early June.
“There shouldn’t be troops from other states in Washington, D.C.,” said Bowser. “There shouldn’t be federal forces advancing against Americans, and there very definitely shouldn’t be soldiers stationed around our city waiting for the go to attack Americans in a local policing matter.”
D.C. taxpayers have no voting representatives, though they pay more in taxes on a per person basis than anywhere else in the nation.
