Both Chris “get rid of Live Free and Die” Pappas and Annie “I’m AOC’s BFF” Kuster wants DC admitted as a State – contra the US Constitution. But DC is not a State. At least not now. But the Dems want it BAD and they want it now.
CHASER – H.R. 51 – To provide for the admission of the State of Washington, D.C. into the Union
Exactly what the Democrats said that they would do if Kavanaugh was elevated to SCOTUS:
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- Pack the Court
- Pack the Congress.
SHOT – US Constitution – Article I, Section 8, Clause 17:
To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings;
As to number one (#1), that’s rather simple. The Congress can add new Justices to the Court – all it takes is the Congress to pass a law to do exactly that and have the President sign it. If the Democrats win in GA today, they could do that. Given the hyper-partisanship now existing in America, this crop will do so (as opposed to when FDR threatened it but backed down). They would bet that, like with Obamacare, the Republicans would never undo this (stupid Republicans!).
Here’s part number two (#2) – admit both Washington, DC and Puerto Rico (it would be next) as new US States. This can be done by Congress (US Constitution, Article 4, section 3).
Puerto Rico is a territory and Congress could write a law if they win GA today, they could do so and Dementia Joe would sign it. Done deal.
Washington DC would probably be a different case (see SHOT above) as it is a creature created by the Constitution.
To turn that Federal Government District that was meant to be “above” the politics of the States in the Union and be a neutral site they may need a Constitutional Amendment.
I guess there can be no neutrality anymore.
This pulls the Constitutional ratification process into view:
The Constitution provides that an amendment may be proposed either by the Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the State legislatures. None of the 27 amendments to the Constitution have been proposed by constitutional convention. The Congress proposes an amendment in the form of a joint resolution. Since the President does not have a constitutional role in the amendment process, the joint resolution does not go to the White House for signature or approval. The original document is forwarded directly to NARA’s Office of the Federal Register (OFR) for processing and publication. The OFR adds legislative history notes to the joint resolution and publishes it in slip law format. The OFR also assembles an information package for the States which includes formal “red-line” copies of the joint resolution, copies of the joint resolution in slip law format, and the statutory procedure for ratification under 1 U.S.C. 106b.
The Archivist submits the proposed amendment to the States for their consideration by sending a letter of notification to each Governor along with the informational material prepared by the OFR. The Governors then formally submit the amendment to their State legislatures or the state calls for a convention, depending on what Congress has specified. In the past, some State legislatures have not waited to receive official notice before taking action on a proposed amendment. When a State ratifies a proposed amendment, it sends the Archivist an original or certified copy of the State action, which is immediately conveyed to the Director of the Federal Register. The OFR examines ratification documents for facial legal sufficiency and an authenticating signature. If the documents are found to be in good order, the Director acknowledges receipt and maintains custody of them. The OFR retains these documents until an amendment is adopted or fails, and then transfers the records to the National Archives for preservation.
A proposed amendment becomes part of the Constitution as soon as it is ratified by three-fourths of the States (38 of 50 States). When the OFR verifies that it has received the required number of authenticated ratification documents, it drafts a formal proclamation for the Archivist to certify that the amendment is valid and has become part of the Constitution. This certification is published in the Federal Register and U.S. Statutes at Large and serves as official notice to the Congress and to the Nation that the amendment process has been completed.
And all that not for the sense of simply expanding America as was done in the past (ending with the addition of Alaska and Hawaii) but for an ordinary and a craven purpose. To expand the Democrat Power as both PR and DC are seen as deep Blue areas.
This would add four additional Senators.
If new representatives are authorized (1911 Law authorized the current 435), that might mean at least four or five new Representatives (based on population sizes of 2.8M for PR and 702K for DC proper).
Most likely it would be two Senators at first (for PR).
Trying to go for DC would overreach as it is rather doubtful the Dems would get a 2/3rds in either chamber right now. And getting 3/4ths of all the States to ratify it would be almost impossible.
But turning PR now would have an impact in the midterm.
Packing the Court would be simple in comparison.
So Chris Pappas and Annie Kuster have made it clear that they are all in on this. The bill doesn’t even have the text available at the present. Imagine that – signing on as a co-sponsor without even having a bill to review. And 200 other Democrats have already signed onto this as well. The prime sponsor, Eleanor Holmes Norton, has wanted this for decades (gaining Statehood for DC).
