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 700,000 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 the District Lost Its Vote

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 in 1790, 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 roughly two-square-mile federal zone holding the Capitol, the White House, the Supreme Court, and the National Mall, and turn the rest into a state.

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 700,000 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 put the District above 700,000 in 2024. Wyoming has about 589,000 residents and Vermont about 645,000, and both have full representation.

D.C. has more residents than two states with full Senate representation

Category	Value
Washington, D.C.: ~700,000	700000
Vermont: ~645,000	645000
Wyoming: ~589,000	589000

Resident population, 2024 Census estimates. D.C. has no voting member of Congress; Wyoming and Vermont each have two senators and a House member. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Brennan Center.

The gap is not close. The District would not be the smallest state if admitted, and it has more residents than two existing states combined would need to clear the bar Congress already accepts. The opposing claim that D.C. is too small points to its land area, not its population. The District covers about 68 square miles, far less than any state, but statehood has always turned on people, not acreage, and by that measure the capital outranks two states that vote.

From Federal Capital to Home Rule

The District’s story runs from its founding in 1790 through a slow, partial return of self-government that still stops short of a vote in Congress. The capital was sited in 1790, residents lost their congressional vote in 1801, Alexandria was handed back to Virginia in 1846, the 23rd Amendment granted three electoral votes in 1961, home rule arrived in 1973, the House rejected statehood in 1993, residents backed it 86% in 2016, and the House finally passed a statehood bill in 2020 and again in 2021 before the Senate let it stall in 2025.

1. 1790 Federal capital created The Residency 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 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 Statehood stalls in the Senate H.R. 51 and S. 51 are reintroduced in the 119th Congress and stall, with no path through the Senate.

Sources: Brennan Center, Congress.gov, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton's office.

Washington, D.C.'s long wait for a vote, 1790 to 2025: 1790 — Federal capital created (The Residency 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 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 — Statehood stalls in the Senate (H.R. 51 and S. 51 are reintroduced in the 119th Congress and stall, with no path through the Senate.).

1790: The Residency 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.

2016: D.C. residents voted 86% for statehood in a local referendum, the strongest measure of local demand and the basis for the current bill.

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: H.R. 51 and S. 51 were reintroduced in the 119th Congress. With Republicans controlling the chamber, the bills stalled with no path forward in the Senate.

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, and Maryland has shown no interest in absorbing the city.

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 ACLU, the Brennan Center, and 39 constitutional scholars who signed a 2020 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 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 and S. 51 in the 119th Congress. 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 lead House sponsor is Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District’s non-voting delegate, who can vote in committee but not 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. With Republicans controlling the chamber and the 60-vote filibuster threshold in place, the reintroduced bills have no path to the floor, and no hearing has been scheduled.

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 strongest objection to D.C. statehood is partisan, and it is more clear-cut than the same argument about 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, usually by more than 80 points. Statehood would very likely add two Democratic senators and one Democratic House member.
• This is not a swing state. Unlike Puerto Rico, which splits its votes and elected a Trump-aligned governor in 2024, D.C.’s partisan lean is settled. Opponents are right that admitting it would shift the Senate’s balance.
• Supporters answer that representation is not a popularity contest. The case for letting 700,000 taxpaying citizens vote does not depend on how they would vote. The same logic admitted lopsided states on both sides throughout American history, from heavily Republican Wyoming to heavily Democratic Hawaii.
• 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, while a 2021 Data for Progress poll found 54% in favor. 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 full federal income taxes, the highest per person of any state, 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 back the Washington, D.C. Admission Act. H.R. 51 passed the House twice and died in the Senate both times. Tell your senators that 700,000 taxpaying citizens deserve a vote and that S. 51 should get a hearing. Use the letter and call script below.

2. Ask where your House member stands on H.R. 51. The Admission Act has cleared the House before. Call your representative and ask for a yes or no on advancing D.C. statehood in this Congress.

3. Press for a Senate hearing, not just a floor vote. The bill has never had a Senate hearing or markup. Tell your senators to put the question on the record in the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee rather than letting it sit.

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.