Republican Sen. Mike Lee has suggested giving parts of Washington, D.C., to Maryland as President Donald Trump moves to take over the nation’s capital.
“If the residents of DC want to be part of a state, the solution is *not* DC statehood,“ Lee wrote on X. “Any solution should involve reverting land ceded by Maryland for the creation of DC—excepting only a narrow corridor encompassing the White House, Capitol, & Supreme Court—to Maryland.”
Maryland and Virginia ceded territory to the federal government in 1791 for the nation’s capital, which was founded the previous year.
However, some areas of Virginia, like the city of Alexandria just south of the District, were later retroceded to the state in 1846 by act of Congress, the Virginia General Assembly, and by a referendum.
Lee laid out his argument for breaking off parts of D.C. in a lengthy thread.
“To give DC residents representation in Congress, we could instead follow the Virginia precedent: Retrocede most of DC to Maryland, excepting a small corridor—just a few blocks stretching from the White House to the Capitol and the Supreme Court,” he wrote.
🧵 1/ If the residents of DC want to be part of a state, the solution is *not* DC statehoodAny solution should involve reverting land ceded by Maryland for the creation of DC—excepting only a narrow corridor encompassing the White House, Capitol, & Supreme Court—to Maryland https://t.co/0z9lJjWXr2 pic.twitter.com/3U6K0vTD6m
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) August 8, 2025
“This small federal enclave would remain under congressional control—allowing the centers of power in Washington to remain under exclusively federal control—while the rest of DC’s residents would gain full voting rights and representation as Marylanders,” he added.
This is not the first time Lee has sought to undermine D.C. home rule.
The Utah lawmaker introduced the Bringing Oversight to Washington and Safety to Every Resident, or BOWSER Act, with Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles in February. Under the bill—named for D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser—Congress would reclaim control over the capital.
Lee’s post comes as he has backed Trump’s push for the federal government to take control of the District. Trump announced on Monday that he was taking over the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, citing the Home Rule Act of 1973, which allows the president to take control of the city’s police for 48 hours. On Monday, Lee renewed his call to pass the BOWSER Act while praising Trump’s announcement.
In response to billionaire Elon Musk’s comments on the beating of a former employee at the Department of Government Efficiency last week, Lee called for Congress to act, arguing the city has “become a mess” under D.C. home rule.
While Republicans have pushed back on making the city of more than 700,000 the 51st state, it has been proposed that parts of D.C. could be shifted to Maryland as a way to give residents federal representation.
GOP South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson sponsored a retrocession bill in 2021 in response to House Democrats passing a bill paving the way for D.C. statehood in 2021, but the legislation was not taken up in the Senate.
D.C. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, who authored the statehood bill, blasted retrocession when the legislation was introduced in 2021.
Her office reiterated to the Daily Beast on Monday that neither D.C., Maryland, nor Virginia is interested in retrocession, and the congresswoman adamantly opposes it.
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