Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va) comes out against D.C. statehood on Friday ensuring that the bill that passed in the House earlier this month is dead on arrival in the Senate.
Manchin said the idea to grant D.C. statehood has been studied by previous Justice Departments and they came to the same conclusion.
“If Congress wants to make D.C. a state, it should propose a constitutional amendment … and let the people of America vote,” Manchin said during a radio interview, according to the Hill.
“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,” Manchin said. “So why not do it the right way?”
A spokesperson for Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), who is leading the effort to grant D.C. statehood responded to Manchin’s comments on Friday.
“The Constitution — including the 23rd Amendment — does nothing to prohibit the granting of statehood to the District of Columbia, nor does it establish a minimum state size or the location of the federal district,” the spokesman said.
