There are, at this point, two major hurdles in advancing S.51 through the Senate. First, the bill is assigned to the Senate s Homeland Security and Government Affairs committee. Because of the 50-50 split between Democrats and Republicans, the DC Statehood bill would need every Democrat to vote yes to advance the bill out of committee.
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has yet to announce committee assignments, but there s no guarantee every Democrat on the committee would support advancing the bill.
Secondly, the legislative filibuster requires that 60 votes be necessary to close debate on an issue and advance to a vote. Only if the filibuster is scrapped or if 10 Republicans voted to close debate, could D.C. statehood get a vote on the floor of the Senate; both possibilities seem very unlikely at this point.
Congressional Democrats introduced legislation on Wednesday to make the District the nation's 51st state, hoping Democratic control of the House, Senate and the White House finally will overcome Republican opposition.
By JOE GUILLEN, CHRISTINE MACDONALD AND JENNIFER DIXON | Detroit Free Press | Published: January 14, 2021 DETROIT (Tribune News Service) Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder appeared in a Flint court Thursday morning and pleaded not guilty to two charges of willful neglect of duty as state prosecutors revealed indictments against nine defendants as a result of the Flint water crisis. Despite the lower-level charges compared with other defendants, the case against Snyder marked a significant moment in the state s political history. Snyder is the first Michigan governor or former governor to be charged with a crime for alleged conduct while in office. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel praised the high-profile prosecutions led by her office s Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud as well as Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy. Nessel had said earlier that she had walled herself off from the criminal cases, turning her focus instead to ongoing civil cases related to the contamination of
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BBC News
By Chris Andrews
image copyrightMirrorpix/Getty Images
image captionCrowds gathered outside Belfast City Hall in June 1921 for the opening of NI s first parliament
The front pages on Christmas Eve 1920 lacked the usual festive cheer, instead focused on a political story which would shape a century of Irish politics.
The previous day, parliament was told that the Government of Ireland Act had received royal assent, legislating for the partition of the island.
By design, Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland (later to become known as the Irish Free State) would have their own parliaments, with London maintaining control over issues such as foreign policy and the military.