In a move that has drawn sharp partisan lines, Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) introduced legislation on Wednesday that would transfer the Virginia cities of Arlington and Alexandria into Washington, D.C., effectively undoing an 1846 law that returned those areas to the Old Dominion.
McCormick’s bill, dubbed the “Make DC Square Again Act,” aims to restore the District of Columbia to its original ten-mile-square boundaries. In a statement, McCormick argued the proposal would “end the artificial advantage Virginia Democrats have recently gained from all the federal bureaucrats moving into Virginia.” The measure comes just days after Virginia voters approved a redistricting referendum that could hand Democrats up to four additional House seats in the upcoming midterm elections.
McCormick contended that Congress acted unconstitutionally when it ceded Arlington County and the City of Alexandria back to Virginia in the 19th century, calling his bill a necessary correction. But the proposal has met with fierce resistance from local Democratic lawmakers. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) lambasted the effort as “an embarrassing legislative tantrum,” adding that it is “unconstitutional, and a stupid waste of time.” Beyer noted that Virginia voters passed the redistricting plan in response to President Trump’s attempts to consolidate power during the midterms, and he accused Republicans of trying to “permanently deprive hundreds of thousands of my constituents of their right to vote in federal elections.”
The redistricting battle has been a flashpoint in the commonwealth. Trump made a last-minute appeal to Virginians on Monday, urging them to reject the measure in a telerally with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). “This referendum is a blatant partisan power grab that nobody’s really ever seen anything like it,” Trump said. “Please get out and vote and vote no. It’s very simple.” After Democrats prevailed, Trump suggested the results were “rigged” without providing evidence.
Trump’s involvement underscores the high stakes. He carried 46 percent of the vote in Virginia in 2024, according to Decision Desk HQ, and the state remains the only southern state he has never won in three presidential campaigns. The president has encouraged red states to redraw their congressional maps to protect the GOP majority in November, a strategy that has already played out in Texas after Governor Greg Abbott signed new maps into law. Republicans are now scrambling to counter Democratic gains in Virginia and are looking to Florida as a potential bulwark.
D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) also pushed back against McCormick’s bill, arguing that it violates principles of home rule and consent. “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,” she said on social media.
The legislative maneuver is widely seen as a long shot, but it highlights the deepening partisan rift over redistricting and the lengths to which some Republicans are willing to go to counter Democratic gains. Trump’s allegations of a rigged vote have only added to the tension, as Democrats celebrate a significant electoral advantage in the state.
