The U.S. territory of Puerto Rico has voted for statehood four times in this century, making it is clear that statehood is the preferred political status option for the Island’s voters. Yet the prospect of Congress admitting Puerto Rico as a state in the imminent future does not appear likely. After all, tough political forces in play in Washington, D.C. as the 119th Congress kicks off lead most close observers to believe that very few bills will make their way through Congress at all in the coming session.
Statehood supporters are nonetheless finding reasons for hope and optimism as they take the long view.
Trump’s expansionism
One factor that encourages statehood supporters is President Trump’s aggressive expansionism. Sounding much more like a 19th century imperialist than a 21st century president, Donald Trump has expressed a desire to grow the United States in multiple directions, annexing Greenland and Canada, taking over the Panama Canal, rebuilding luxury hotels on the Gaza strip, and seizing Ukraine’s mineral rights. This mindset, while considered by most observers to be extreme, nonetheless seems compatible with adding new states on a basic level.
“This president, since his swearing-in, has been very vocal about expanding the territorial area of the United States for national security and economic reasons,” José Fuentes-Agostini, told NOTUS. “We are thrilled with his position because we feel that the primary reason to make Puerto Rico a state is precisely for national security reasons and economic development reasons.”
Fuentes-Agostini is chairman of the Puerto Rico Statehood Council, an organization supporting statehood.
Puerto Rico supports statehood
Statehood received 58.61% of the vote in Puerto Rico’s 2024 status plebiscite held on Election Day.
The marks the fourth time in recent history (2012, 2017, 2020, and 2024) that statehood secured majority support in Puerto Rico’s status referenda, underscoring a consistent trend in favor of equality and full democracy through statehood.
Significantly, independence continues to lag behind all other options, garnering only 12% of the vote in November, demonstrating that a full 88% of Puerto Rican voters consider a continued connection with the U.S. to be important.
Congressional Interest in Statehood
Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have supported statehood for decades, and many continue to do so. The Puerto Rico Status Act, which created a democratic pathway to statehood, was passed by the House of Representatives in 2022 with 101 cosponsors, both Republicans and Democrats.
The question of statehood for Puerto Rico continues to be an open one. Congress can admit new states with a simple majority.
The Resident Commissioner is not likely to reintroduce the Puerto Rico Status Act as his bill but there are members of Congress who have expressed an openness to statehood. This group includes many of the bill’s cosponsors, who remain in Congress. In addition, concerns about U.S. national security have been on the upswing.
The bottom line
Developing national security concerns and an increasingly expansionist mindset by U.S. leaders are lending credence to the idea that statehood for Puerto Rico continues to be a likely long-term outcome for the territory. The new political reality developing in Washington may include some surprising new pathways to resolution of Puerto Rico’s ultimate political status.
Sadly Puerto Rico’s state of movements is cursed with a pro statehood federal government always at odds with an anti statehood delegates/resident commissioner or an anti statehood governor in Puerto Rico. This time around we have an expansionist president that might be open to Puerto Rico statehood down the road because of GOP Governor Jennifer Gonzalez and GOP Shadow US senator that’s openly supported Trump. But unfortunately the monkey in the ranch is a resident commissioner of the anti statehood populares Democrat Party. However this new Resident commissioner is not as extreme
The new Resident commissioner is not as extreme in his opposition to stay her and has stated he would respect the will. Of course given the history of the populares, that’s simply double talk because he will do everything possible to prevent any federal referendum from happening.
It is interesting to note that hypocrisy of the left in Puerto Rico and the US Mainland and their opposition to statehood. Every time statehood wins the referendum they move the goal posts further away. First they said that pluralities was not enough for statehood. Then they said simple majority was not enough for statehood. Now they said 60 majority of 60% is not enough for statehood. But when it comes to Independence they expand the goal posts and move it deeper into the playing field. Despite Independence only getting 12%, the anti-state crowd claims it is really 25 to 30% when you count the Commonwealth votes against statehood. That’s absolute rubbish because the vast majority of Commonwealth supporters are pro-union with the United States and in a statehood yes or no referendum with Federal approval they will break for statehood. We saw how statehood won with 53% in the simple yes no non-binding 2020 referendum.