Democrats in the House Oversight Committee have voted along party lines to pass a bill seeking to make the District of Columbia the 51st state, sending their bill to a full House vote. The panel voted 25-19 to advance H.R. 51, also known as the “Washington, D.C. Admission Act,” to grant statehood to residents in the district after a lengthy debate over the constitutionality of the effort. The Democrat-led House passed a similar bill in 2020 but the Democrat effort was effectively shot down by the then-Republican-led Senate. If successful, the bill would see D.C. residents be able to elect two more Senators to represent the Democrat-leaning state. The federal district, to be controlled by Congress, would be limited to two square miles surrounding the White House, Capitol, Supreme Court, and National Mall to be named the “Capital.” The issue has garnered intense debate, with Democrats arguing that tax-paying D.C. residents should be afforded the …