Origin
In April 2021, after U.S. President Joe Biden’s first address to a joint session of Congress, the left-leaning Facebook page Occupy Democrats posted a meme that claimed Republican Congress members had abjectly failed to applaud Biden’s stated goal of drastically reducing the rate of child poverty in the United States.
The meme, posted on April 28, the evening of the speech, contained what appeared to be a screenshot from a video stream, showing the Democratic side of the House of Representatives chamber standing and applauding, while members on the Republican side (circled in red) largely sat and did not appear to applaud. The meme contained the following text:
Posted: Apr 29, 2021 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: April 29
Biden pushes big plans, early successes in 1st address to Congress
The National10 hours ago
2:42
President Joe Biden’s first speech to the U.S. Congress focused on his plans for child care, education and helping the middle class while also touting his successes with COVID-19 vaccinations.2:42
Given the message of Joe Biden s first presidential speech to the U.S. Congress, he could hardly have chosen a more symbolically fitting date to deliver it.
April 28.
On the exact same date, 40 years ago, another first-year president strode into that chamber under heavy applause on a mission to chop: to cut back government and taxes.
Trust between the parties, and between members themselves, has cratered as President Joe Biden prepares to address the House and the Senate for the first time in his presidency.
House of Representatives passes Washington D.C. statehood bill
On Thursday, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives voted for the second time in less than a year to admit the District of Columbia the seat of the federal government as the 51st state in the United States. House Resolution 51 passed on a party-line vote of 216-208, with every Republican opposed. The bill will now go to the Senate, where Democrats hold narrowest of majorities, thanks to the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris.
The District of Columbia, renamed the state of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, with a population of 700,000, would become the geographically smallest state in the United States, one-eighteenth the size of Rhode Island, although it would have a larger population than the states of Wyoming and Vermont.