As America turns 250, Trump should restore Washington DC's original borders

Virginia Democrats conscionable projected an electoral representation that would perchance springiness Democrats 10 of the state’s 11 representatives successful the House. In a authorities that voted 46% for Trump, it is outlandish to lone springiness Republican voters astir 9% of the state’s representation. Virginia should beryllium cautious though. The lone crushed it has that overmuch practice is due to the fact that of its racist past. Perhaps President Trump should rectify that humanities incorrect with a agelong overdue fix.

You see, 179 years ago, Arlington, erstwhile portion of the District of Columbia, was fixed to Virginia for the explicit intent of continuing slavery successful Northern Virginia. Now, Arlington, erstwhile portion of the District of Columbia, is location to astir 200,000 Virginians, a large galore of whom are D.C. bureaucrats, who present bask the benefits of surviving successful the states portion besides exerting disproportionate power implicit the national government. They person fundamentally treble representation. If Arlington residents privation to power Washington, they should beryllium successful Washington, conscionable arsenic the founders intended.

The US Capitol from North Capitol thoroughfare successful Washington, D.C..  (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Some history: In 1790, the District of Columbia was created. Its determination was seated straight successful betwixt Maryland and Virginia, with some states ceding 5 miles of their land. But successful 1847, aft the District pressed for abolition of slavery, Alexandria, present Arlington County, was officially retroceded aft President James K. Polk issued a proclamation and the Virginia legislature accepted.

Like the Civil War that followed, portion determination were financial, strategic, and voting interests astatine involvement astatine the time, it is hard to reason that slavery was not the superior motivator. Virginians were acrophobic that "slaves" would simply locomotion crossed the bound into the District and go free. With the carnal obstruction of the Potomac River parting Virginia from the District, slaves would beryllium incapable to summation their freedom. And indeed, arsenic a effect of retrocession, slavery expanded successful Virginia adjacent aft the District abolished it.

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The Supreme Court ne'er weighed successful arsenic to whether this maneuver was constitutional. It did admit the transfer, but successful a taxation dispute. The D.C. Circuit issued a ruling that presumed constitutionality, but successful an estates case.

As a result, morganatic law questions person been near to linger for 179 years. The Contract Clause of Article I of the Constitution states that "No authorities shall participate into immoderate … instrumentality impairing the work of Contracts." In Virginia’s statement with the United States, it "forever ceded and relinquished … successful afloat and implicit close and exclusive jurisdiction …." The onshore was fixed for the "permanent seat" of government. If the statement was "permanent" and "forever," however past could a authorities initiate a instrumentality that impairs that contractual agreement?

US President Donald Trump during an enforcement bid signing successful the Oval Office of the White House successful Washington, DC, US, connected Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. Trump signed an enforcement bid intended to motorboat an IndyCar contention connected the streets of Washington arsenic portion of a bid of America250 celebrations.  (Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

There are further law concerns. Numerous agencies are housed successful Arlington County. Yet, Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 of the Constitution that describes the "seat of government" arsenic a tract of onshore that had been "by cession of peculiar states." In different words, the Constitution contemplated the spot of authorities to beryllium autarkic of immoderate state.

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This makes sense. By placing a important information of the national authorities successful a azygous state, that state, by logical extension, gains much powerfulness than the rest. That is precisely wherefore abstracted onshore was truthful important to the founders. Everything was astir equilibrium and separating powerfulness and influence.

An effort to reconstruct the District would not beryllium unsocial to President Trump. Subsequent presidents, similar Abraham Lincoln, called for undoing retrocession. President William Taft, who said it was not adjacent constitutional, called for restoring the onshore backmost to the District. An nonfiction astatine the clip noted that the full effort for retrocession was "to forestall fugitive slaves escaping from Virginia."

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In a clip of efforts to undo humanities injustices astir race, it is hard to recognize however this has not been revisited. But not for racist motives, the onshore would person remained a portion of the District "permanently" and "forever," conscionable arsenic some the states and President George Washington intended. Thus practically, legally, and from a humanities injustice perspective, it makes consciousness that "recession" (i.e. restoring the archetypal cession) beryllium revisited.

President Trump should see issuing an Executive Order directing the DOJ (or different agencies) to research the constitutionality of the 1847 retrocession and, potentially, actions that could beryllium taken to reconstruct the District to its archetypal intended boundaries and purposes. As we hole to observe America’s 250th birthday, it would beryllium a fitting infinitesimal for him to instrumentality Arlington residents to their constitutionally-approved residence. Virginians could besides slumber amended knowing they had righted a centuries’ aged wrong.