From WTOP.com….
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said Friday that he opposes a bill recently passed by the House that would make D.C. the nation’s 51st state.
During a call with reporters, Manchin said he believes making D.C. a state would require a constitutional amendment.
In his comments, Manchin cited the 23rd Amendment, which gave the District three electoral votes. D.C. does not have a vote that counts in Congress.
“It gave D.C. residents the right to vote in presidential elections, but it complicates D.C.’s pathway to statehood, because Congress had three options to choose from back in 1961,” he told reporters. “They could either have D.C. statehood, they could have retrocession to Maryland … or they could have granted electoral votes to D.C.”
