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Statehood for D.C. and Puerto Rico

If new states were ratified into the Union, it would mean additional senators and could make it easier to pass laws that really help the 99 percent, like single-payer healthcare, voter rights, labor laws, better union protections, and a living wage. This is the precise reason republicans do not want Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. added. Now is the time to add these new states as we have Senator Bernie Sanders and the Squad there pushing for necessary reforms on the people’s behalf. First on the list should be Washington, D.C., with a population of 5,322,000, which is larger than Vermont with 629,932 or Wyoming with 582,328, according to 2020 Census. So, why is D.C. not already a state? One argument against making it a state is that the Founding Fathers wanted it separate as the capital of the United States, and it was formed as a federal district by using land from both Maryland and Virginia in 1790. Puerto Rico has been a U.S. territory since 1917 when Spain ceded the island to the U.S. under the provisions of the 1898 Treaty of Paris,ending the Spanish-American War. Republican opposition could be seen as a form of voter suppression as D.C. has a higher population of black people vs white and the GOP do not want more black people voting. If that is the reason then what is their argument against Puerto Rico joining? Puerto Rico has been in line for statehood for a very long time so is the GOP’s opposition to Puerto Rico due to the population of people of color and more assumed Democratic votes? Congress could repeat what it did in 1912 when Arizona and New Mexico were admitted together and in 1958 when Alaska and Hawaii were admitted. Arizona was a settlement before since 1776 and New Mexico since 1610, Alaska was a settlement since 1784 and Hawaii since 1820 so it’s about time Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico joined the Union, as well.
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