Rep. Jones Calls DC Statehood Objections 'Racist Trash'

WHITE PLAINS, NY — A party-line vote in the House of Representatives Thursday passed legislation to make Washington, D.C., the newest state in the union.

Whether the Senate will pass the law as well is yet to be seen.

But the issue remains controversial as evidenced by a contentious exchange during floor debate before the vote.

Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-Rockland/Westchester, responded to a comment made by Rep. Jody Hice, R-Georgia, that the District of Columbia would be the only state without such thing as a landfill.

As seen in the clip below from C-SPAN, Jones said he's had enough of his colleagues' "racist insinuations" that the people of the nation's capital are unworthy of being a part of the United States.

"One of my House Republican colleagues said that D.C. couldn't be a state because the district doesn't have a landfill," he said. "My goodness, with all the racist trash my colleagues have brought to the debate, I can see why they're worried about having a place to put it."

Among the outcry from Republicans over the comment was Maryland Republican Andy Harris who asked for Jones to consent to having his remarks stricken from the record, Forbes reported.

Harris told Forbes that Jones’ remarks were “unbecoming of a Representative" and violated the House rules.

Jones eventually agreed to withdraw his remark and finished his speech saying the Republicans' objections were about fear.

Arguments against making the district a state have included it not having enough people living in it to even be a single congressional district. That was said by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-South Carolina, CNN said.

D.C. is larger in population, with more than 692,000 people, than the state of Wyoming is, with about 579,000.

The District of Columbia does not have any representation in the Senate. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton is a non-voting member of the House of Representatives for the district.