Republican proposes giving part of Virginia back to DC after redistricting loss
Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) on Wednesday introduced legislation to make the Virginia cities of Arlington and Alexandria part of Washington, D.C., reversing an 1846 law that returned the regions to the Old Dominion .
“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 said in a statement .
The proposal comes days after Virginia voters approved a redistricting referendum that could help Democrats score up to four more seats in the House ahead of the midterm elections.
McCormick argued that Congress unconstitutionally ceded Arlington County and the city of Alexandria to Virginia in the 1800s and said his bill “finally corrects” the error.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) publicly opposed the bill.
“Rich McCormick’s bill is an embarrassing legislative tantrum. It is also unconstitutional, and a stupid waste of time,” Beyer said in a statement shared on social platform X. “Republicans upset about the passage of Virginia’s redistricting referendum should stop whining, as they have no one to blame but themselves.”
The Virginia Democrat added that voters in the state approved the redistricting plan in response to President Trump’s attempt to seize more power during the midterms.
“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,” he said. “Their contempt for voters is breathtaking.”
Trump made a last-minute pitch to Virginians on Monday, urging them to reject the measure.
“This referendum is a blatant partisan power grab that nobody’s really ever seen anything like it,” Trump said during a telerally call with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) a day before the election. “Please get out and vote and vote no. It’s very simple.”
Following Democrats’ victory in the state, the president suggested the results were “rigged,” without citing evidence.
Trump brought in 46 percent of the vote in Virginia in 2024, according to Decision Desk HQ. The commonwealth remains the only southern state that he has not won across his three presidential campaigns.
The president has encouraged red states to redraw their congressional maps to ensure Republicans retain the majority in November. The redistricting battle began last year in Texas after the Lone Star State passed its referendum and Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed the new maps into law, but Democrats have made steady gains .
“Disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of Virginia residents by making them D.C. residents without their input — or DC’s — violates the very principles I’ve fought for my entire career: home rule and consent of the governed,” Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) said on X , referring to McCormick’s bill.
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