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HARRIS & BIDEN: Supporting Statehood for D.C. & Puerto Rico
Statehood for D.C. and Puerto Rico would guarantee four additional Democrat seats in the U.S. Senate. Though Harris has been careful not to tip her hand regarding her support for such measures, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced in August 2024 that she and the capital city’s 51 delegates at the Democratic National Convention were enthusiastically supporting Harris. “We know Kamala Harris will fight for our freedom and we will work together to make Washington, D.C. the 51st state!” said Bowser. “The District of Columbia is proud to cast its 51 votes for the next president of the United States, Kamala Harris.”
On April 22, 2021, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives voted to transform Washington, D.C. into a state on a pure party-line vote of 216-208. The Biden-Harris administration expressed its support for the measure, with statements like these:
DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Supporting Statehood for D.C. & Puerto Rico
The Democratic Party’s official 2024 platform says: “We unequivocally support statehood for D.C. […] Democrats support the enactment of the Puerto Rico Status Act/H.R. 2757, and promote full civic and political representation for Puerto Ricans.”
In a September 30, 2020 interview, Democrat Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer said that he would seek to turn Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. into states if Democrats were to win both the White House and a majority in the U.S. Senate in the upcoming November elections. “I’m not busting my chops to become Majority Leader to do very little or nothing,” he explained. “We are going to get a whole lot done. And as I’ve said, everything, everything is on the table.” “I would — believe me, on D.C. and Puerto Rico, particularly if Puerto Rico votes for it, D.C. already has voted for it and wants it. I’d love to make them states,” Schumer elaborated.
In a January 30, 2021 interview with Al Sharpton on MSNBC, Schumer, who was now the Senate Majority Leader, re-emphasized his commitment to bringing transformational change to the United States: “Well, Rev, we have one goal: big, bold change in America” which would include “dealing with D.C. and Puerto Rican statehood.”
On August 7, 2024, Republican Senator Mitch McConnell said: “Let’s assume our worst nightmare—the Democrats went to the White House, the House, the Senate. The first thing they’ll do is get rid of the [Senate] filibuster. Second, you’ll have two new states: D.C., Puerto Rico. That’s four new Democratic senators in perpetuity.”