House approves bill to make DC a state

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The House, in a party-line vote on Thursday, approved legislation to make Washington, D.C., the 51st state in the nation, sending the bill to the Senate.

It’s the second time the House has approved such legislation in two years, but the statehood bill, long a goal for the nation’s capital, faces an uphill climb in a Senate evenly divided between the two parties.

Winning a vote in the Senate would likely require ending the filibuster that requires most legislation to clear a 60-vote hurdle. Even then, not all 50 Democrats in the Senate back making D.C. a state. Continue reading.

D.C., Maryland begin seeking Trump financial documents in case related to his D.C. hotel

The Trump International Hotel is shown on August 10, 2017 in Washington, DC. Credit: Win McNamee, Getty Images

The attorneys general for Maryland and the District of Columbia issued subpoenas for financial records and other documents from as many as 13 of President Trump’s private entities Tuesday as part of an ongoing lawsuit alleging that his business violates the Constitution’s ban on gifts or payments from foreign governments.

The subpoenas seek details on some of the most closely held secrets of Trump’s presidency: Which foreign governments have paid the Trump Organization money? How much? And for what?

All of the documents — among them marketing materials targeted to foreign embassies, credit card receipts and restaurant reservation logs — relate to Trump’s D.C. hotel, which is at the center of the case because of events foreign governments have held there and the federal lease that allows the business to operate.

View the complete December 4 article by Jonathan O’Connell, Ann E. Marimow and David A. Fahrenthold on The Washington Post website  here.