Violence and chaos in the D.C. Navy Yard neighborhood. Shots rang out near the Ballpark metro stop. A suspect was arrested & a gun recovered.
About 100 youths took over the park near the D.C. Capitol, firing guns, launching fireworks, racing around on dirt bikes, and terrorizing the residents.
The FBI and DHS have responded.
The thugs have taken control and tomorrow President Trump has an announcement coming about D.C. Hopefully, it is to take control of crime and put these thugs in prison as appropriate. Senator Mike Lee might have a better solution. Keep reading.
The nation’s Capital is a crime infested slum.
Shots fired in DC, walking distance from the Capitol.
100+ teens are in the neighborhood riding dirt bikes and setting off fireworks.
Federalize DC, Trump. Now’s the time to get rid of these piece of swine thugspic.twitter.com/EFnnpOPSq2
— Sara Rose (@saras76) August 10, 2025
I love Mike Lee’s idea. Give it back to Maryland except for a narrow corridor.
1/ If the residents of DC want to be part of a state, the solution is *not* DC statehood
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 https://t.co/0z9lJjWXr2 pic.twitter.com/3U6K0vTD6m
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) August 8, 2025
This thread is excellent as Elon noted. Lee includes interesting illustrations. However, for the purpose of brevity, I only include his statements. He traces D.C. history and the Founding Father’s vision and how we can make D.C. part of a state.
Democrats will hate the idea because they want to make it a Democrat state. Corrupt Republicans won’t like it either. It would solve the problem. Criminals will be sucked into two states that have laws.
Senator Lee’s Thread
Let’s start with some historical context
DC was established by Congress under the Residence Act of 1790, allowing President George Washington to select a site for the federal capital along the Potomac River, not exceeding 10 miles square (100 square miles).
Land was ceded by both Maryland (about 69 square miles) and Virginia (about 31 square miles) to form this diamond-shaped district that we now call D.C..
The cessions were formalized; Virginia transferred its portion in 1790, and Maryland followed in 1791.
This included areas like Georgetown (from MD) and Alexandria (from VA).
By the 1840s, many residents in the Virginia portion of DC felt neglected by Congress, faced economic stagnation, and believed slavery would soon be abolished in D.C.
In 1846, Congress passed legislation retroceding the Virginia portion—now Arlington County and the City of Alexandria—back to Virginia.
President James K. Polk signed it into law
That law reduced D.C. from 100 square miles to about 68, establishing retrocession as a viable, constitutional path.
Virginia’s land was returned without issue, and it thrives today as part of Virginia, not D.C..
In spite of that precedent, some argue that D.C. should now become a state.
But D.C. alone (rather than as part of Maryland) doesn’t meet the criteria we’ve historically applied to statehood.
Although the Constitution doesn’t specify minimum population or geographic size, our states have been admitted as territories with balanced economies—agriculture, industry, and diverse resources.
We have “never” admitted a state that consists of just a single, geographically compact, urban enclave—whether heavily dependent on the federal government (as D.C. is) or otherwise.
D.C. lacks anything close to the industries, natural resources, opportunities for growth, and amenities found in literally every other state.
It’s just a city—one city—and therefore can’t be accorded the status of a sovereign state using the time-honored criteria.
More importantly, the Founders quite intentionally created D.C. as a “neutral” federal district to serve as the seat of the U.S. government under Article I, Section 8.
They did so specifically to prevent any one state from wielding undue influence over the national government.
Making DC a state would subject the seat of the U.S. government to a state, entangling the capital city in that state’s politics.
It’s not about partisanship. It’s about preserving the constitutional design and preventing our nation’s capital from becoming subject to one state.
To give D.C. residents representation in Congress, we could instead follow the Virginia precedent. Retrocede most of D.C. to Maryland, excepting a small corridor—just a few blocks stretching from the White House to the Capitol and the Supreme Court.
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 D.C.’s residents would gain full voting rights and representation as Marylanders.
This solution would give D.C. residents what they deserve—state-level representation—without upending the Constitution or creating an anomalous micro-state.
This approach would be practical, historical, and fair.
Maryland ceded the land that’s now D.C. at the dawn of our constitutional republic. It can absorb it back again, just as Virginia absorbed its previously ceded territory in the 1940s.
Let’s prioritize the Founders’ vision over political power grabs.
D.C. should either remain a federal district or revert back to Maryland. But it’s not a state, and shouldn’t be considered for statehood (unless it’s to be part of Maryland again).
What do you think?
