Democrats ... are moving quickly and aggressively to stake their claim to a permanent congressional majority. But there's one obstacle that in the deep divisions facing America in the 21st century could handily defeat them – the Constitution. The U.S. House on Thursday voted for a congressional plan to make the District of Columbia the 51st state, and with its Democrat-dominated population give the party another two senators forever. But it is the Heritage Foundation that explained ... that move requires a constitutional amendment, which of course requires approval from two-thirds of the states... it cannot be done by mere majority vote in Congress." The district was created in 1790 from 10 square miles given to the federal government by Maryland and Virginia. "The Framers of the Constitution believed that the federal government needed to have control over the seat of government—over the place where it was to conduct its business—so that it would not find itself beholden to a particular state government...
"In 1961, the states ratified the 23rd Amendment, giving district residents for the first time the right to vote for president and vice president," the report said. And it was granted home rule in 1974, electing Walter Washington as mayor. A constitutional amendment to grant the residents not statehood but the right to vote in Congress was proposed in 1978, and failed when only 16 states adopted it. While Congress is allowed to admit new states to the Union, the procedure chosen by the district officials went, at the time, "off the rails." That's because a new "state" requires a constitution for admission, and one was approved in 1982. Article 1, Section 8 gives Congress authority over the district "in all cases whatsoever." ... Once a district becomes a state, statehood is permanent. It can never be revoked, as the Supreme Court recognized in shortly after the Civil War in Texas v. White. Making the district a full state, therefore, would be an abrogation of power that the Constitution explicitly assigns to Congress alone,"... Then Article IV, Section 3 provides that "no new state may be created out of the territory of an existing state without that state's permission."... And it refers to the District as a permanent constitutional entity. Legislated D.C. statehood would be an oddity to say the least when the Constitution itself refers to the area 'as if it were a State.'" In 1978 Congress passed another amendment, giving the District of Columbia seats in the Senate and the House, but only 16 states ratified it... Americans plainly have not wanted to change the Constitution to make that happen,""... Read more ...