A Republican congressman from Georgia has filed legislation aimed at transferring Democratic-stronghold areas of Virginia back to Washington DC, following the state’s recent redistricting decision that could favor Democrats.
Rep. Rich McCormick announced Thursday his introduction of the Make DC Square Again Act, which would reverse a land transfer from the 1800s that gave southwestern portions of the nation’s capital back to Virginia in what historians call retrocession.
“The Make DC Square Again Act restores the original ten-mile-square District and ends the artificial advantage Virginia Democrats have recently gained from all the federal bureaucrats moving into Virginia,” McCormick stated.
The legislation faces slim chances of passage in a Congress struggling with basic governance issues. However, it represents another partisan maneuver as both parties jockey for control in the tightly contested House during this election cycle.
Advocates for DC statehood have condemned the proposal, arguing it demonstrates how the federal district gets treated as a “political football.”
“The residents of the district are not fully participating in the democracy of this country because we are not allowed to,” stated Alicia Yass, advocacy director at the American Civil Liberties Union of D.C. “Bills like this that mess around with the district just show how important it is for D.C. to have the full benefits and rights of a democracy.”
Some opponents of Virginia’s redistricting referendum want President Donald Trump to sign an executive order declaring the pre-Civil War transfer of Alexandria and Arlington to Virginia as unconstitutional.
“This order would be on better legal footing than many of President Joe Biden’s most egregious orders,” former Trump Justice Department chief of staff Chad R. Mizelle argued in a Fox News editorial.
The historical context involves Congress’s 1846 decision to return 31 square miles of DC territory to Virginia. This included Alexandria city and areas now housing the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery.
Both Virginia and Maryland had originally donated this territory for the federal capital, but local residents pushed for the 1847 return due to economic concerns and fears Congress might abolish slavery in the district, according to Alexandria city records. Virginia later joined the Confederacy with Richmond as its capital.
Debate over undoing this land transfer has persisted for decades. Some argue Congress lacked authority to return the territory and that local voting procedures didn’t meet congressional requirements for retrocession.
The feasibility of Congress reclaiming Virginia territory remains questionable. George Derek Musgrove, a University of Maryland Baltimore County history professor, expressed doubt about McCormick’s initiative, particularly since it stems from Virginia’s redistricting outcome potentially helping Democrats.
“It’s not even a retrocession bill. It’s really a Virginia voter suppression bill,” Musgrove observed.
The bill’s specific language was not immediately accessible.
The targeted region encompasses Alexandria city and Arlington County, both Democratic strongholds. During the 2024 presidential race, Kamala Harris captured 77% of votes in both areas, while Donald Trump received approximately 20%.
These blue voters supported Virginia’s redistricting referendum, which passed Tuesday and could help Democrats secure four additional House seats. However, returning this territory to DC would diminish that electoral benefit and require new district maps reflecting Virginia’s reduced size.
The affected region’s roughly 400,000 residents would likely forfeit complete representation in both congressional chambers.
McCormick’s bill references restoring the district’s “square” shape on maps. Other proposals exist as well.
The American Capital Project, an obscure organization supporting the territory’s return to DC, advocates for a presidential executive order invalidating the original legislation. This approach would eventually bring the matter before the Supreme Court to determine the original law’s constitutionality.
The American Capital Project’s funding sources and leadership remain unclear, as its website provides no contact details or organizational information.
Democrats have also pursued DC statehood initiatives. The Democratic-controlled House approved such legislation in 2021, though the Senate took no action. Some Senate Republicans then suggested incorporating the current district into Maryland to provide residents full congressional representation.
