Buttigieg advocates DC statehood as part of racial justice plan

Democratic presidential hopeful Pete ButtigiegPete ButtigiegScaled-back Pride Month poses challenges for fundraising, outreach Biden hopes to pick VP by Aug. 1 It’s as if a Trump operative infiltrated the Democratic primary process MORE is calling for statehood for Washington, D.C., in his plan released Thursday aimed at tackling “racist structures and systems.”

The candidate’s “Douglass Plan,” named after abolitionist Frederick Douglass, calls for “Congress to redefine the District of Columbia to include only government buildings in the city center and create a new state, ‘New Columbia,’ from the remaining territory.”

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Buttigieg noted in the plan that D.C. “would be the only state in the union where Black Americans were not a racial minority.”

The South Bend, Ind., mayor used his proposal to formally call for a number of other Democratic reform ideas, such as abolishing the Electoral College.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), the District’s sole, nonvoting representative in the House, has introduced D.C. statehood bills several times over the years.

This year’s version of the bill has garnered the most support yet, with 216 co-sponsors, including House Majority Leader Steny HoyerSteny Hamilton HoyerOvernight Health Care: US showing signs of retreat in battle against COVID-19 | Regeneron begins clinical trials of potential coronavirus antibody treatment | CMS warns nursing homes against seizing residents’ stimulus checks Hoyer: House will vote soon on bill to improve ObamaCare Hoyer: Infrastructure package to hit floor this month MORE (D-Md.), throwing their support behind it.

Sen. Kirsten GillibrandKirsten GillibrandWarren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Warren, Pressley introduce bill to make it a crime for police officers to deny medical care to people in custody Senate Dems press DOJ over coronavirus safety precautions in juvenile detention centers MORE (D-N.Y.), who is also running for president, recently announced her own support for D.C. statehood.

Republicans have consistently opposed making the nation’s capital the 51st state, with many pointing to the high percentage of registered Democrats in the city.