D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton secured Sunday a record number of House co-sponsors in the new Congress for her bill designating the District of Columbia as the union’s 51st state.
Norton (D) got 202 original co-sponsors for the Washington, D.C. Admissions Act, vastly surpassing the previous record of 155 original co-sponsors for the bill, which she set in 2019 during the 116th Congress.
The House passed her D.C. statehood bill in June, a first for either congressional chamber.
In the U.S. Senate, Thomas Carper, Delaware Democrat, has companion legislation to Norton’s that had 42 co-sponsors in the previous Congress.
Political observers and statehood activists speculate that if Georgia Democrats Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Raphael Warnock are elected in the Senate runoff elections Tuesday, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who would become the chamber’s majority leader, will work to bring Carper’s bill to the floor.
Both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) have indicated support for Norton’s bill and have plans to bring it to the floor some time this year.
Norton expressed her gratitude for the support among her House colleagues.
“Thank you to those who signed on as original co-sponsors, helping us set a new landmark record,” she said. “We’re on our way to becoming the 51st state.”
