Norton Issues Statement on Statements By Josh Earnest on President Obama’s Support for D.C. Statehood

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today released the following statement concerning White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest's statements on statehood for the District of Columbia.

"I just read Josh Earnest's response this afternoon to yet another press inquiry on whether the President supports D.C. statehood. I appreciate Josh Earnest's response today that ‘the President does support statehood.' I had placed a call to him earlier today after reading his earlier response to a similar ‘yes or no question,' where he said, ‘Ultimately, that would be a decision that we would support the residents of the District making for themselves.' However, I could not reach him. My first reaction to the first answer was a cross between heartbreak and outrage. After all, the President has explicitly supported statehood in unequivocal terms. So, by the way, has former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. I had thought everyone starting at the top was on the same page, and now it is clear we are. I do understand how hard it is to be on top of every issue, but D.C. statehood is ‘in your face' here because the outcry for statehood emanates from the nation's capital where the White House is located. Perhaps I expect too much, but Sunday's hilarious Last Week Tonight segment on D.C. statehood by now has traveled around the world, and Fox News White House Correspondent Kevin Corke had good reason to believe that it had reached the White House. His persistence finally got the real answer today. D.C. residents love and admire this President, but they constantly ask that his bully pulpit be used more often to help them achieve the same rights that other Americans take for granted. We seldom get the national stage that the White House press briefing offers. Yet, Josh Earnest has had a number of occasions to speak at press briefings about the President's almost continuous statements opposing attachments and amendments intruding into the affairs of the District. There would be fewer such press inquiries if the District had statehood giving our residents equal representation in the House and Senate and ensure there could be no interference by Congress into our affairs."