D.C. Statehood

What Is D.C. Statehood?

Washington, D.C. is not a state because the Constitution created it as a federal district to serve as the national capital, under the exclusive control of Congress. Its roughly 694,000 residents, more than live in Wyoming or Vermont, pay full federal taxes and serve in the military, but they have no voting member of Congress. Statehood would make the residential part of the District the 51st state, with two senators and a voting House member, while a small federal core stays under Congress.

A resident of D.C. who moves to any state can immediately vote for two senators and a House member. Stay in the capital, and that vote disappears. The barrier is the city’s status, not the person’s citizenship.

How D.C. Residents Lost the Vote in Congress

The District was built to be governed by Congress, and that design is why its residents cannot vote for it. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution gives Congress power to “exercise exclusive Legislation” over the seat of government, a clause written so no single state could hold leverage over the capital. When Maryland and Virginia ceded the land for the capital, the people living there went with it, and in 1801 Congress formally took control and the residents lost the congressional vote they once had as Marylanders and Virginians.

Statehood is the path most advocates favor, and only Congress can grant it. Article IV says “new states may be admitted by the Congress,” which takes a simple majority in both chambers and the president’s signature. The same clause has admitted 37 states. The Washington, D.C. Admission Act would carve out a small federal zone holding the Capitol, the White House, the Supreme Court, and the principal monuments on the National Mall, and turn the rest into a state (H.R. 51).

D.C. already runs most of its own affairs. The 1973 Home Rule Act gave the District an elected mayor and council, though Congress still reviews its laws and budget and can override them. What the city lacks is a vote in the body that holds that power.

More Residents Than Two Existing States

About 694,000 people live in Washington, D.C., more than live in Wyoming or Vermont, two states that each send two senators to Washington. The Census Bureau’s July 2025 estimates put D.C. at 693,645, Vermont at 644,663, and Wyoming at 588,753 (Census Bureau).

D.C. has more residents than two states that each elect two senators

Category	Value
Wyoming: 588,753 people, 2 senators	588753
Vermont: 644,663 people, 2 senators	644663
Washington, D.C.: 693,645 people, 0 senators	693645
Alaska: 737,270 people, 2 senators	737270
North Dakota: 799,358 people, 2 senators	799358

The five smallest jurisdictions by population, July 1, 2025. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates.

D.C. would not be the smallest state if admitted. It would rank 49th, ahead of Vermont and Wyoming and just behind Alaska. The claim that D.C. is too small points to its land area instead. The District covers about 68 square miles, far less than any state, but representation has always been counted in people, not acreage.

From Federal Capital to Home Rule

The District’s story is a slow, partial return of self-government that still stops short of a vote in Congress. The capital was sited in 1790, and residents lost their congressional vote in 1801. Congress handed Alexandria back to Virginia in 1846. The 23rd Amendment brought three electoral votes in 1961, and home rule followed in 1973. The House rejected statehood in 1993, residents backed it with 86% in 2016, and the House passed it in 2020 and again in 2021. In 2025 the federal government took over the city’s police.

1. 1790 Federal capital created The Residence Act places the national capital on land ceded by Maryland and Virginia.
2. 1801 Residents lose their vote The Organic Act puts the District under direct congressional control and its residents lose their vote in Congress.
3. 1846 Alexandria returned to Virginia Congress retrocedes the Virginia portion of the District back to Virginia, proving it can resize the capital.
4. 1961 3 electoral votes for president The 23rd Amendment gives the District three electoral votes for president. It still has no vote in Congress.
5. 1973 Wins elected local government The Home Rule Act gives D.C. an elected mayor and council, though Congress keeps review of its laws and budget.
6. 1993 House rejects statehood The House votes down a D.C. statehood bill 277-153 in the first floor vote on the question.
7. 2016 D.C. votes 86% for statehood D.C. residents back statehood with 86% in a local advisory referendum, the clearest signal of local demand.
8. 2020 House passes statehood The House passes the D.C. Admission Act 232-180, the first time a chamber of Congress approved D.C. statehood.
9. 2021 House passes statehood again The House passes the Admission Act a second time, 216-208. The Senate does not take it up.
10. 2025 Federal takeover of D.C. police The president invokes Section 740 of the Home Rule Act for 30 days and sends in the National Guard, under orders later extended through 2026.

Sources: Brennan Center, Office of the House Clerk, D.C. Board of Elections, NPR, Task & Purpose.

Washington, D.C.'s long wait for a vote, 1790 to 2025: 1790: Federal capital created (The Residence Act places the national capital on land ceded by Maryland and Virginia.). 1801: Residents lose their vote (The Organic Act puts the District under direct congressional control and its residents lose their vote in Congress.). 1846: Alexandria returned to Virginia (Congress retrocedes the Virginia portion of the District back to Virginia, proving it can resize the capital.). 1961: 3 electoral votes for president (The 23rd Amendment gives the District three electoral votes for president. It still has no vote in Congress.). 1973: Wins elected local government (The Home Rule Act gives D.C. an elected mayor and council, though Congress keeps review of its laws and budget.). 1993: House rejects statehood (The House votes down a D.C. statehood bill 277-153 in the first floor vote on the question.). 2016: D.C. votes 86% for statehood (D.C. residents back statehood with 86% in a local advisory referendum, the clearest signal of local demand.). 2020: House passes statehood (The House passes the D.C. Admission Act 232-180, the first time a chamber of Congress approved D.C. statehood.). 2021: House passes statehood again (The House passes the Admission Act a second time, 216-208. The Senate does not take it up.). 2025: Federal takeover of D.C. police (The president invokes Section 740 of the Home Rule Act for 30 days and sends in the National Guard, under orders later extended through 2026.).

1790: The Residence Act sited the capital on land ceded by Maryland and Virginia, creating a federal district answerable to Congress rather than to any state.

1801: The Organic Act formally placed the District under congressional control. Its residents, who had voted as Marylanders and Virginians, lost their representation in Congress.

1846: Congress retroceded the portion of the District south of the Potomac back to Virginia, returning the area around Alexandria. The move set the precedent that Congress can change the capital’s borders by law.

1961: The 23rd Amendment gave the District three electoral votes, so its residents could finally vote for president. It did nothing for their representation in Congress.

1973: The Home Rule Act let D.C. elect its own mayor and council for the first time in a century. Congress kept the power to review and overturn the city’s laws and budget.

1993: The House held its first floor vote on D.C. statehood and rejected it 277-153 (House Clerk).

2016: D.C. residents voted 86% for statehood in a local advisory referendum, the strongest measure of local demand (D.C. Board of Elections).

2020: The House passed the Washington, D.C. Admission Act 232-180, the first time either chamber of Congress had ever approved statehood for the District.

2021: The House passed the Admission Act again, 216-208. The Senate never brought it to a vote.

2025: On August 11, 2025, the president invoked Section 740 of the Home Rule Act to take control of the Metropolitan Police Department and deployed the National Guard. The law caps that use of the police at 30 days without a vote of Congress, a window that ran through September 10. The Guard mission was later extended through the end of 2026 (NPR, Task & Purpose).

What a State Controls That D.C. Does Not

The 2025 takeover showed what the missing vote means in practice. Home rule lets D.C. elect a mayor and council, but the federal government keeps the final word over the city’s police, its National Guard, its laws, and its budget. A governor and a state legislature hold all four for themselves.

The courts have not settled the Guard question. Judge Jia Cobb ruled on November 20, 2025 that the deployment illegally intrudes on local control of law enforcement (CBS News). On December 17, 2025, the D.C. Circuit granted a stay that lets the troops stay while the appeal proceeds (D.C. Circuit order).

Three Paths for the District

The debate over D.C.’s status comes down to three choices, and they differ on who gains a vote and what constitutional question they raise. The table below lays out statehood, retrocession to Maryland, and the status quo, with the main objection each one draws.

Retrocession is the alternative opponents of statehood most often point to, because it would add representation without creating a new state. The precedent is real. Congress handed the Alexandria side of the District back to Virginia in 1846. The catch is that neither side wants it. D.C. residents voted overwhelmingly for statehood, not for becoming part of Maryland.

The Constitutional Fight Over a Statute

The sharpest legal dispute is whether Congress can admit D.C. by ordinary law or whether it needs a constitutional amendment. Supporters, including the Brennan Center and nearly 40 constitutional scholars who signed a 2021 letter, argue that the Admissions Clause lets Congress create a state with a simple majority, the same way it admitted 37 others, and that the Constitution requires only that some federal district exist, not that it stay its current size. Opponents, including writers at the Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute, argue that the Framers deliberately built a district outside any state and that undoing that structure takes an amendment, with retrocession as the cleaner route.

A second hurdle is specific and technical. The 23rd Amendment grants three electoral votes to “the District constituting the seat of Government,” and those votes are tied to the District, not its population. If statehood shrinks D.C. to a tiny, nearly unpopulated federal core, the amendment would still award three electoral votes to whoever lives in that core, which could be little more than the president’s household. The Admission Act tries to defuse this by repealing the statute that currently directs how those electoral votes are cast and by starting an expedited repeal of the 23rd Amendment. Supporters treat it as a practical wrinkle to clean up. Opponents treat it as proof that statehood by statute leaves a constitutional mess.

The Admission Act Stalled in the Senate

The bill that would settle the question is the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, reintroduced as H.R. 51 on January 3, 2025, with 208 House cosponsors, and as S. 51 on January 9, led by Sen. Chris Van Hollen, with 43 (GovInfo bill status). It would admit the state of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, named for the Maryland-born abolitionist Frederick Douglass, and shrink the federal district to the capital core.

The bill’s longtime champion is leaving. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.’s non-voting delegate since 1991, ended her reelection campaign in January 2026, and D.C. Councilmember Robert White won the Democratic primary to succeed her on June 16, 2026 (Roll Call). Whoever holds the seat can serve on committees but cannot vote on final passage of legislation on the House floor.

The House passed earlier versions twice, 232-180 in 2020 and 216-208 in 2021, the only times either chamber has approved D.C. statehood. The Senate has never voted on it. Republicans control the chamber, where the bill would need 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, and in this Congress S. 51 has had no hearing in the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Our brief on the debate over adding D.C. and Puerto Rico and expanding the Supreme Court to 13 lays out what each side argues, and our explainer on why residents of Puerto Rico and other territories cannot vote for president covers the wider group of U.S. citizens in a similar bind. For the parallel fight over the island, see our explainer on Puerto Rico statehood.

Would Statehood Help One Party

The main political objection to D.C. statehood is partisan, and the numbers behind it are clearer than for Puerto Rico. The distinction matters, so it is worth stating plainly rather than dodging.

• D.C. is reliably Democratic. The District has voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every election since it gained electoral votes in 1964, by more than 80 points in each of the last five (D.C. Board of Elections). Statehood would very likely add two Democratic senators and one Democratic House member.
• This is not a swing state. Unlike Puerto Rico, which in 2024 elected Jenniffer González, a former chair of the Puerto Rico Republican Party, as governor, D.C.’s partisan lean is settled. Opponents point out that admitting it would shift the Senate’s balance.
• Supporters answer that representation is not a popularity contest. The case for letting about 694,000 taxpaying citizens vote does not depend on how they would vote. They note that lopsided states on both sides, from heavily Republican Wyoming to heavily Democratic Hawaii, each have two senators.
• The constitutional question and the partisan question are separate. Whether Congress can admit D.C. by statute is a legal dispute about the Admissions Clause and the 23rd Amendment. Whether it should is a political fight about Senate control. Conflating the two muddies both.

What the Polling Shows

National opinion on D.C. statehood is mixed and shifts sharply with how the question is framed and who is asked. A 2019 Gallup poll found 29% in favor and 64% opposed (Gallup). A Data for Progress poll that finished fielding September 1, 2020, found 43% in favor and 34% opposed (Data for Progress). The two are not a trend line, because different pollsters asked differently worded questions a year apart. Support is strongest among Democrats and weakest among Republicans, which tracks the partisan stakes.

The contrast between the 86% local vote and the divided national numbers is the heart of the politics. Inside the District, the demand is overwhelming and consistent. Across the country, the answer depends on the wording and the respondent’s party, and that split is why a question the House has twice answered yes still has no path through the Senate.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why isn’t Washington, D.C. a state? The Constitution created it as a federal district to be the national capital, under the direct control of Congress, so no single state would hold sway over the seat of government. That design, written into Article I, is why its residents have no voting member of Congress.

Do D.C. residents pay taxes and vote for president? Yes to both, with a catch. They pay federal taxes, more per person than residents of any state, according to the Brennan Center, and they have voted for president since the 23rd Amendment gave the District three electoral votes in 1961. They still have no voting representation in Congress, which is the gap statehood would close.

Does D.C. statehood need a constitutional amendment? That is the central legal dispute. Supporters say Congress can admit the state by statute under the Admissions Clause, as it did 37 times. Opponents say undoing the federal-district structure requires an amendment. The 23rd Amendment, which ties three electoral votes to the District, is a separate hurdle the Admission Act tries to repeal.

What would the new state be called? Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, named for the abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who lived in the District. The name preserves the “D.C.” initials while honoring a different figure.

What You Can Do

1. Ask your senators to cosponsor the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, S. 51. It has 43 cosponsors but has had no Senate hearing this Congress, so tell your senators that about 694,000 taxpaying citizens deserve a vote, using the letter and call script below.

2. Ask where your House member stands on H.R. 51. It has 208 House cosponsors and has cleared the House twice before. Call your representative and ask whether they are one of them.

3. Ask candidates on your November 3 ballot where they stand. Every House seat and a third of the Senate are up. Ask the candidates whether they would vote for D.C. statehood, and whether a president should be able to take over the city’s police without its consent.

4. Learn the case and share it. The Brennan Center’s explainer on D.C. statehood lays out the population, tax, and constitutional arguments without spin. Read the case for and against adding D.C. and Puerto Rico and expanding the Court before you decide where you stand.