Retiring Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton Repeatedly Has Been Recognized as an Effective Member of Congress and Has Received Multiple Honors

By: Miriam Edelman

Retiring Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton has been an extremely effective Member of Congress despite not having a vote. This piece follows up on DCNOW’s blog’s piece, entitled “DCNOW Thanks Civil and D.C. Rights Icon, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton for Her Decades of Leadership.”

Sheila Bunn, who was Norton’s Chief of Staff, credits Norton’s confidence with Norton’s success. Bunn said:

“There’s no fear with her when it comes to talking to other members of Congress, especially white men.”

“It was a no-holds-barred. That’s how she was so successful over the years because for her, being the delegate for D.C. was not just a job or position for her. D.C. is her hometown.”

Recognized on Lists

Multiple times, including in 2025, the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) named Norton as one of the most effective Members of Congress even though she does not even have a vote. Rankings are:

-          “118th Congress: Norton ranked #10 Most Effective Lawmaker

-          117th Congress: Norton ranked #9 Most Effective Lawmaker

-          116th Congress: Norton ranked #7 Most Effective Lawmaker

-          115th Congress: Norton ranked #1 Most Effective Lawmaker

-          114th Congress: Norton ranked #4 Most Effective Lawmaker

-          113th Congress: Norton ranked #1 Most Effective Lawmaker

-          112th Congress: Norton ranked #2 Most Effective Lawmaker

-          111th Congress: Norton ranked # 11 Most Effective Lawmaker

-          110th Congress: Norton ranked #8 Most Effective Lawmaker

-          109th Congress: Norton ranked #11 Most Effective Lawmaker

-          108th Congress: Norton ranked #22 Most Effective Lawmaker

-          107th Congress: Norton ranked #1 Most Effective Lawmaker

-          106th Congress: Norton ranked #3 Most Effective Lawmaker

-          105th Congress: Norton ranked #11 Most Effective Lawmaker

-          104th Congress: Norton ranked #1 Most Effective Lawmaker

-          103rd Congress: Norton ranked #7 Most Effective Lawmaker

-          102nd Congress: Norton ranked #133 Most Effective Lawmaker”

During most of her time in Congress, she has been ranked in the top ten effective lawmakers. She even ranked #1 four times. The following has been written about her: “Norton Ranked Most Effective Democratic Lawmaker based on her proven ability to advance a member's agenda through the legislative process and into law, noteworthy because she is a non-voting member.”

In 2025, the CEL wrote about Norton in the 118^th Congress:

“Moving beyond Rep. Castro, we see that Representative Neguse and Delegate Norton continued their trends of being among the “top 10” most effective Democratic lawmakers, even though the Democrats were now the minority party in the 118th Congress. This speaks to their abilities to navigate the legislative process whether in the majority or minority party.”

“Continuing her streak of being in the “Exceeds Expectations” category for each and every term of her decades-long congressional career is Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia. That Congresswoman Norton has kept this streak going for more than 30 years, while both in the majority or minority party, as well as serving as a rank-and-file lawmaker and as a chair at the committee or subcommittee level is truly remarkable. Delegate Norton’s career offers lessons to those legislators who seek to become more effective lawmakers, and she is featured prominently in the CEL’s guide to effective lawmaking for newly-elected members of Congress.”

Norton has also been featured on other prominent lists. She has been named as one of the 100 most important American women and one of the most powerful women in Washington.

Recipient of Honors

            Norton has received numerous honors, including:

-          More than 50 honorary degrees.

-          Citation of Merit from the Yale Law School

-          Wilbur Cross Medal for outstanding alumni from the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

-          ACLU of D.C.’s Arthur B. Spitzer Lifetime Achievement Award

-          American Psychiatric Association Foundation’s Solomon Fuller Award

-          Casey Trees’ Honoree for Leadership

-          DC Bar’s honor

-          DC Office of Human Rights’ Lifetime Achievement Award

-          District of Columbia Chamber of Commerce’s Lifetime Legacy Award

-          Global Down Syndrome Foundation’s Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award – The Foundation also named Katherine Felicia Norton as a 2014 Ambassador. The Foundation’s tribute video about Norton and Katherine Felicia Norton is on https://www.globaldownsyndrome.org/congresswoman-eleanor-holmes-norton-applauds-globals-role-increased-syndrome-research-funding/

-          Historical Society of Washington, D.C.’s, Making D.C. History Award

-          Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights’ Pillar of Justice Legacy Award

-          Moment Magazine’s Ruth Bader Ginsburg Human Rights Award – While accepting this award in November 2024, Norton called for D.C. statehood: “I would like to address a key civil rights issue, statehood for the District of Colombia. This country was founded on the principles…of no taxation without representation and consent of the govern; yet, the nearly 700,000 D.C. residents are taxed without voting representation in Congress, cannot consent to the federal laws that govern them and ultimately cannot consent to the local laws…that govern them because Congress has the final say on D.C. matters. The U.S. is an anomaly. We are the only democratic country that denies voting representation in the nation's legislature to the to the residents of its capital. D.C. residents are treated as second-class citizens. There is only one political solution that would give D.C. residents voting representation in the Congress and complete control over their local affairs. That solution is to make the District of Colombia a state. [clapping] Thank you. In 2020, the House of Representatives… passed my bill to make D.C. a state which was the first time in history either chamber of Congress has passed the D.C. statehood bill. The House passed it again in 2021. While the recent election results were a temporary setback, we are well on our way to making the District of Colombia the 51st state of the United States of America.”

-          National Children’s Museum’s 2024 Dreamers Gala Honoree

-          National Down Syndrome Society’s Champion of Change

-          National Organization for Women’s Award for Distinction for Intersectional Feminism – In 2020, NOW’s President Toni Van Palt said “NOW is proud to honor Eleanor Holmes Norton with this well-deserved award.” Van Pelt added, “From serving as the first woman chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, to her feminist activism on sex discrimination and her vast body of legislative work, Congresswoman Holmes Norton has been a champion for women and girls in Washington, D.C. and across the country for decades.” NOW also endorsed Norton’s Congressional campaign.

-          National Urban League’s Living Legend Award

-          National Women’s History Alliance’s honoree 

-          University of the District of Columbia’s Myrtilla Miner Award for Exceptional Service to Society

-          Washington, D.C.’s Washington Leadership Award

-          Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia’s Janet Reno Torchbearer Award

Awards Named For Norton

In 2018, the DC Federation of Democratic Women created the Eleanor Holmes Norton Legacy Fund:

“1) To provide scholarships to female students doing graduate study in public policy or studying public interest law at the University of the District of Columbia David Clarke School of Law; and”

“2) Who embody the passion, determination and commitment to public service as embodied by DC’s own “Warrior on the Hill,” Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton.”

In 2024, Antioch College, an alma mater of Norton, created the Eleanor Holmes Norton Award. That award

“recognizes contributions by Antioch College alumni or friends who have demonstrated significant advancement in fields of policy or politics. The nominees for this award should be persons, or groups of persons, who have made positive changes through advocacy and political action, in either local, national, or global arenas, or have served in political office.

In 2019, Georgetown University Law Center honored Norton with the Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton Green. At a ceremony, Georgetown Law Dean William M. Treanor said that Norton is “a giant in the law, a giant in the fight for justice, a giant in the history of Washington, D.C., and a giant in the history of Georgetown Law.” D.C.’s Mayor Muriel Bowser said Norton:

“frequently reminds me that certainly statehood and making Washingtonians equal Americans is top on her agenda, but she spends each and every day making our city better by reclaiming land from the federal government, and making that land places where Washingtonians to live, work, and for people to contribute to our bottom line, shall we say. Just think of what D.C. would be without a new waterfront at the wharf, or without new jobs and housing opportunities…or without upcoming partnerships to focus on children’s health…those are the things that Eleanor has been able to do for us to make sure that she is getting the best out of the federal government for Washington, D.C. She also has used her enormous brain and talent and intellect to keep the hands off of DC that don't belong on D.C. You know, the people that we didn't elect? And it has been a privilege working alongside her to defend D.C. values and to protect the critical federal investments that make DC stronger and create new opportunities for every Washingtonian.”

Final Thoughts

Let’s honor Norton by making sure that future Congressional representatives of D.C. are able to vote on the Floors of the Senate and the House. It is way past time to make D.C. a state.