I’ve heard that the boundaries of the District of Columbia can be changed without constitutional amendment. Some have talked of making a smaller DC, consisting only of the Capitol, White House , and National Mall. And such an area would not have any permanent residents.
However if they ever really did this, it would then make sense to give the remainder of DC back to Maryland and be part of that state. Problem solved without adding 2 new permanent Democrat senators. People in DC would then have congressional representation from being part of Maryland.
Yep. That's the solution right there. Carve out a small federal district, and give the rest back to Maryland (sorry, Maryland).
The government has a precedent for that in the return of cross-Potomac DC land to Virginia. Maryland is already true-blue, and it has experience with poor urban areas with Baltimore and PG County.
You are correct. In the 1830s....because of slavery issues...Alexandria and Arlington were both worked out to return to Virginia, with no Constitutional changes.
If you ever go up and walk around the district...everything across the river (Anacostia)could easily fold up and be part of Maryland. The western side (Georgetown) is also easily folded up into Maryland. If you exit the White House and go 500 feet north...you could also refer to this property as non-DC.
The problem I see with this is that DC political figures have spent years building up their special interest groups. To suddenly say that as a major urban area...you are now the number one city of Maryland, and contend with the governor of Maryland and the State Legislature of Maryland, it’s a pretty negative situation.
The pull on this idea is that transportation-wise...both Virginia and Maryland get dragged into any discussion or debate over METRO. The DC guys can’t get anything done, unless both states participate and agree on the changes.