With intense GOP opposition, Manchin's position severely imperils the legislation's passage.
Manchin says that the process for DC statehood should be done through a constitutional amendment.With intense GOP opposition, Manchin's position severely imperils the legislation's passage.Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said Friday he would not back a House-passed bill making Washington, DC, the nation's 51st state, arguing that the process should be done through a constitutional amendment.
"They all came to the same conclusion," he said. "If Congress wants to make DC a state, it should propose a constitutional amendment. It should propose a constitutional amendment and let the people of America vote.""I would tell all my friends ... if you go down that path because you want to be politically popular ... you know it's going to go to the Supreme Court," he said.
Manchin's position severely imperils the legislation and underscores the tenuous position that Democrats have in the evenly divided Senate, which the party controls due to Vice President Kamala Harris's tiebreaking vote. Any Democratic defection can doom major legislation, especially with Manchin and Sen. Krysten Sinema of Arizona opposed to eliminating the Senate filibuster, which creates a 60-vote threshold to break.
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