Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) introduced legislation on Wednesday to reincorporate Arlington and Alexandria, two independent jurisdictions in Northern Virginia, into the District of Columbia, hearkening back to a time when the federal district extended west into the neighboring state.
The aptly titled Make DC Square Again Act would reverse an 1846 congressional action, known as retrocession, that ultimately ceded Arlington County and the City of Alexandria to Virginia a year later. At the time, the two areas were collectively known as Alexandria County.
If Arlington and Alexandria are added back, the district would look more like a slanted square as the bill’s title suggests. The capital is currently in the shape of an incomplete diamond.
McCormick argued that the retrocession process 180 years ago was unconstitutional because Congress had no authority to cede territory back to the states under the enclave clause in the Constitution. The clause grants Congress exclusive legislative authority over a district “not exceeding ten miles square,” or 100 square miles. Today, the district is roughly 68 square miles.
Washington, D.C., was originally 100 square miles. The district “would be restored to exactly how it was prior to the retrocession” if the bill becomes law, a spokesperson for McCormick told the Washington Examiner.
“Our bill further clarifies that this transfer will formally occur at the start of the first fiscal year after enactment, that the jurisdiction of D.C. will not affect the property rights of those in Arlington or Alexandria, and that all criminal and civil proceedings currently ongoing can conclude in Virginia courts,” the spokesperson said.
“The Constitution never authorized Congress to carve pieces out of the federal District and hand them back to a state,” McCormick said in a statement.
He framed the bill as a solution to combat Virginia Democrats’ redistricting agenda after the state passed a referendum approving a new congressional map that heavily favors Democrats. The ballot measure is already facing court challenges, but if the map is implemented, Democrats would have a 10-1 advantage in Virginia’s House delegation.
“Democrats have spent years manipulating maps and boundaries to rig elections,” the Republican lawmaker added. “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.”
The congressman’s press release did not mention any other lawmakers attached to the bill, but McCormick’s office confirmed Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) signed onto the bill on Thursday.
It remains unclear if the Make DC Square Again Act will gain any traction in Congress or receive support among leaders in the district and Virginia.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), who represents the congressional district encompassing Arlington and Alexandria, provided a statement to the Washington Examiner signaling his fierce opposition to the legislation.
“Rich McCormick’s bill is an embarrassing legislative tantrum,” Beyer said. “It is also unconstitutional, and a stupid waste of time. Republicans upset about the passage of Virginia’s redistricting referendum should stop whining, as they have no one to blame but themselves.”
“Virginia reacted to Donald Trump’s attempts to seize more power in the midterms by empowering voters to respond,” he continued. “Republicans are so upset at this expression of popular will that they are attempting to permanently deprive hundreds of thousands of my constituents of their right to vote in federal elections. Their contempt for voters is breathtaking.”
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In 1866, Sen. Benjamin Wade (R-OH) unsuccessfully tried to repeal the retrocession process that separated Arlington and Alexandria from the district. McCormick said his measure “finally corrects this unconstitutional error.”
Virginia originally ceded the territory along the west bank of the Potomac River to the district in 1791. The Residence Act of 1790 recognized the port city of Alexandria and the surrounding land, now known as Arlington, as part of the original 10-mile-square district.
