Virginia Democrats just suggested an electoral map that would potentially give Democrats 10 of the state’s 11 representatives in the House of Representatives. In a state that voted 46% for Trump, giving Republican voters only about 9% of the state’s representation is bizarre. However, Virginia must be careful. The only reason it has so much representation is because of its racist past. Perhaps President Trump should right this historic wrong with a long overdue solution.
You see, 179 years ago, Arlington, once part of the District of Columbia, was given to Virginia for the express purpose of perpetuating slavery in Northern Virginia. Now Arlington, once part of the District of Columbia, is home to nearly 200,000 Virginians, many of whom are DC bureaucrats who now enjoy the benefits of living in the United States while also exercising disproportionate influence over the federal government. They essentially get dual representation. If the people of Arlington want to influence Washington, they need to be in Washington, just as the founders intended.
The US Capitol from North Capitol Street in Washington, DC. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
A bit of history: The District of Columbia was founded in 1790. The location was right between Maryland and Virginia, with both states separated by five miles. But in 1847, after the county pushed for the abolition of slavery, Alexandria, now Arlington County, officially became returned after President James K. Polk issued a proclamation and accepted power from the Virginia legislature.
As with the Civil War that followed, even though there were financial, strategic, and voting interests at stake at the time, it is difficult to argue that slavery was not the primary motivator. Virginians feared that “slaves” would simply walk across the border into the District and become free. Because the physical barrier of the Potomac River separates Virginia from the District, slaves would not be able to gain their freedom. And indeed, as a result of retrocession, slavery extensive in Virginia, even after the district abolished it.
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The Supreme Court never addressed the question of whether this maneuver was constitutional. It recognized the transfer, but in a tax dispute. The DC circuit issued a ruling that presumed constitutionality, but in an estates case.
As a result, legitimate constitutional issues have been sidelined for 179 years. The Contract Clause of Article I of the Constitution states: “No State shall make any law adverse to the obligations of contracts.” In Virginia agreement with the United States, it has “forever waived and relinquished… in full and absolute right and exclusive jurisdiction….” The land was given for the “permanent seat” of government. If the agreement were ‘permanent’ and ‘forever’, how could a state initiate a law affecting that contractual agreement?
US President Donald Trump during the signing of an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, January 30, 2026. Trump signed an executive order intended to launch an IndyCar race on the streets of Washington as part of a series of America250 celebrations. (Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
There are other constitutional concerns. Numerous agencies are housed in Arlington County. Yet Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 of the Constitution, which describes the “seat of government” as a tract of land acquired “by conveyance from certain States.” In other words, the Constitution considered the seat of government to be independent of any state.
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This makes sense. Placing a substantial portion of the federal government in a single state gives that state, by logical extension, more power than the rest. That’s exactly why separate land was so important to the founders. It was all about balance and separating power and influence.
An effort to restore the district would not be unique to President Trump. Later presidents, such as Abraham Lincoln, called for the retrocession to be reversed. President William Taft, who said it wasn’t even constitutional and called for the land to be returned to the district. An article at the time noted that the entire retrocession effort was intended “to prevent fugitive slaves from escaping from Virginia.”
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In a time of attempts to undo historical injustices surrounding race, it is difficult to understand how this has not been revisited. But without racist motives, the land would have remained part of the District “permanently” and “forever,” just as both the states and President George Washington intended. So, practically, legally and from a historical injustice perspective, it makes sense that the ‘recession’ (i.e. the restoration of the original cession) is reconsidered.
President Trump should consider issuing an Executive Order directing the DOJ (or other agencies) to investigate the constitutionality of the 1847 retrocession and possibly identify actions that can be taken to restore the district to its original intended boundaries and purposes. As we prepare to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, it would be a fitting time for him to return the residents of Arlington to their constitutionally approved place of residence. Virginians would also sleep better knowing they had righted an age-old wrong.
