Norton Thanks DC Vote, Other Organizations For Their Opposition to Trump’s Actions in D.C., Call for D.C. Statehood

August 28, 2025 Press Release WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today released a statement thanking DC Vote for their outspoken support for the District of Columbia during President Donald Trump’s attempted federal takeover of D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). "I want to thank these organizations, including DC Vote, for their efforts to preserve D.C. home rule and further the goal of D.C. statehood,” Norton said. “Their recent letter opposing President Trump’s efforts to federalize MPD, which included 76 local and national organizations as signatories, proves that there is national widespread support for D.C. statehood and D.C. home rule.” The full letter and list of signatories follows: Oppose Takeover of D.C. Responsibilities, Support Statehood Instead August 21, 2025 Dear Member of Congress: On behalf of DC Vote and the 76 other undersigned local and national organizations, we write to express our strong opposition to President Trump’s takeover of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, his deployment of the National Guard in D.C., and his request for more power over the lives of Americans living in our nation’s capital. President Trump’s actions are unwarranted. Under the Home Rule Act, the President may nationalize the D.C. Metropolitan Police when an emergency exists that requires such action “for federal purposes.” No such emergency exists. Violent crime is down by 26 percent in D.C. compared to last year. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, violent crime in D.C. is at a 30-year low. The high-profile crimes cited by the President, while unacceptable, served as a pretext to launch a takeover of D.C. We urge you to reject his and other people’s efforts to continue federal control over D.C.’s local police and/or to change the Home Rule Act. Taking any of those steps would be a violation of the American principle of self-government and send a single to your constituents that their local government may be next. Instead, we urge you to cosponsor and pass the D.C. Admissions Act, S.51 and H.R. 51. The President’s actions make clear once again that Americans in D.C. are second class citizens in their own country. We must right this historic wrong by providing Washingtonians with full voting representation in both chambers of Congress. We look forward to working with you to fulfill the promise of American democracy by making D.C. the 51 st state. Sincerely, DC Vote A. Philip Randolph Institute ACLU-D.C. Action Together NEPA Advancement Project American Federation of Teachers American Humanist Association Anacostia Coordinating Council Asbury United Methodist Church Bend the Arc: Jewish Action Black Voters Matter Fund Brand Yourself Ministries LLC Campaign Legal Center for Common Ground Choose Democracy Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) Clean Elections Texas Clearinghouse on Women's Issues Common Defense D.C. Chapter of National Organization for Women DC Appleseed Center for Law and Justice DC Democratic State Committee DC Jobs with Justice Declaration for American Democracy DemCast USA Democracy Defenders Action Equal Ground Action Fund Faith in Action National Network Feminist Majority FREE DC Free Speech For People Friends Committee on National Legislation Generation Vote GOODProjects Howard University Indivisible Indivisible Santa Fe League of Conservation Voters League of Women Voters of the District of Columbia League of Women Voters of the United States Long Live GoGo Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO National Action Network National Association of Social Workers National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund National Organization for Women National Women's Law Center Action Fund Neighbors United for DC Statehood NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice Peace Action People For the American Way People Power United Public Citizen Reframe Health and Justice Rev. Dr. Dollie Howell Pankey Rock Spring Congregational United Church of Christ Scott United Methodist Church Secure Elections Network Stand Up America Task Force for Democracy The Hustlers Guild The Voter Participation Center The Workers Circle Transformative Justice Coalition Voto Latino Ward 3 Democratic Committee Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs Womxn From The Mountain ###