The White House has declared its opposition to a bill that would give Washington, D.C. a vote in Congress.
A White House spokesman Friday said the Constitution is clear that only residents of states, not districts, can elect people to Congress.
The bill now being considered by the House of Representatives would add two votes to the 435-member chamber - one for the nation's capital, which traditionally votes Democratic. The other seat would go to the majority-Republican western state of Utah.
Democratic leaders say the proposal is expected to pass when it goes to the House floor, perhaps as early as next week. But analysts say the bill is likely to die in the Senate.
The District of Columbia has a non-voting delegate in the House of Representatives. Its 500,000 residents have long argued that they deserve a vote in Congress.
