Republican Congresswoman Mace calls Democrats' D.C. statehood bill 'ideological terrorism'

During debate on the Washington, D.C., statehood bill on Thursday, South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace called the legislation "ideological terrorism."

The bill would repeal the 23rd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and redraw the existing boundaries of the nation's capital to create the "State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth." The legislation passed in the House following the debate, 216-208, along party lines.

Democrats on the House floor argued that D.C. statehood is a matter of representation for residents of D.C. in Congress regardless of the city's history of voting for Democrats in presidential elections.

"Some say this is not about race or partisanship, you can be sure it's about race and partisanship. A city with a minority majority population that apparently might vote in a different way from some. So what?" said Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Democrat from Virginia. "How somebody votes cannot be a test of whether they have the right to vote in the democracy."

Illinois Rep. Danny Davis said D.C. would be the "greatest state in the country" if Congress passes the admission bill.

"I look forward to the people of Washington D.C., having all rights of citizenship as a member of a state, voting in the greatest state in the country when it becomes one, Washington D.C.," he said.

Mace argued that Democrats are "tying to stoke racial division in this country" with the bill.

"This is nothing but a naked power play today," she said on the House floor. "That's all this is about. People who can't get their radical agenda passed under the system our framers set out now want to blow it up. This is nothing but ideological terrorism by those willing to completely ignore our Constitution and system of government.

"Whether it's attacks on the first, second, third, or fourth amendment, or turning our federal seat of government to two more far left senators, they simply do not care. They want what they want. This is not about a balance of power. This is about more power. This is about government-run health care, a $93 trillion Green New Deal, packing the Supreme Court, higher taxes and a bigger less efficient form of government."