One way D.C. can protect itself from Trump: Rejoin Maryland
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Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
Could the answer to Congress cutting D.C.'s budget and President Trump taking over be … rejoining Maryland?
Why it matters: The far-fetched idea that many Washingtonians hate (we'd become Maryland drivers) is being talked about as a way to save the city from Trump.
Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin suggested to Mayor Muriel Bowser retrocession instead of waiting on statehood.
- "If you guys want to think about coming back to Maryland for this period, you would definitely be safer in the free state than you'd be under the brutal thumb of MAGA colonialism," Raskin said on the "City Cast D.C." podcast this week.
- Raskin said that Bowser "took it under advisement." Bowser's office declined to tell Axios whether the mayor would consider it.
The gambit would be a temporary alliance to weather the Trump administration.
- D.C. wouldn't have to worry about micromanagement from Congress, which is about to pass a bill that treats the city as a federal agency and forces $1.1 billion in local cuts.
Flashback: The idea of retrocession has been around a long time, but it's not very popular.
- Unlike when Arlington retroceded to Virginia in 1847, there haven't been majorities of popular support for the idea in D.C. or Maryland.
- About a third of Marylanders said they supported welcoming D.C. as a new county, compared with 57% who were opposed, per a 2019 Washington Post-UMD poll.
- Created as the federal district in 1801, D.C. has been separate from Maryland for longer than 34 of the 50 states have even existed.
What they're saying: George Derek Musgrove, a professor at UMBC and the author of "Chocolate City," applauded Raskin for introducing "an interesting strategic insight."
- "I think the proposal should be taken seriously. But I don't think it can pass" in both chambers of Congress — for the same reasons Republicans oppose statehood.
- That's right. In addition to a local referendum, retrocession needs sign-off from Congress and the president.
D.C. residents would also need convincing, he says, that the annexation would just be temporary and that the two would have another divorce.
- "We have a different history, a different identity, and we don't necessarily want to give that up," says Musgrove, who's a member of the pro-statehood D.C. Vote.
Bowser's spokesperson said: "700,000 Washingtonians proudly govern our own affairs, and the results speak for themselves," listing accomplishments like 29 balanced budgets and record tourism.
Go deeper: The pros and cons of D.C. being annexed by Maryland