The declaration of Juneteenth as a federal holiday is only one step away after the US House of Representatives passed the legislation on Wednesday, sending it towards US President Joe Biden for final approval. However, 14 votes were received against the bill, all of which came from members of the Republican Party.
The bill, which aims to recognise the complete abolishment of slavery in the United States, garnered a tally of 415-14 in the House.
While a majority of US lawmakers celebrated the effort to designate the day as a federal holiday, a handful of GOP lawmakers seemed to disagree with it.
| State | Name of Representative(s) |
| Wisconsin | Tom Tiffany |
| Alabama | Mo Brooks, Mike Rogers |
| Arizona | Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar |
| California | Tom McClintock, Doug LaMalfa |
| Georgia | Andrew Clyde |
| Kentucky | Thomas Massie |
| Montana | Matt Rosendale |
| South Carolina | Ralph Norman |
| Tennessee | Scott DeJarlais |
| Texas | Rony Jackson, Chip Roy |
Kentucky‘s Thomas Massie said that “naming this day ‘National Independence Day’ will create confusion and push Americans to pick one of those two days as their independence day based on their racial identity” after saying he fully supports the celebrating the abolition of slavery, reported NPR.
Even though some lawmakers have opposed the legislation, the setback has been negligible as the remaining members of the house showed support for it. The bill is expected to land on US President Joe Biden‘s desk on Saturday, who is then likely to declare the day as America’s 11th federal holiday with a stroke of his pen.
