Five ways D.C. can begin acting like a state

Cuneyt Dil

A D.C. flag with the words "FREE DC" scrawled in red below its red bars is hanging on a overpass with the U.S. Capitol building in the far background — Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images

D.C. has an opportunity to reset its statehood strategy, with a new mayor and delegate to Congress coming in January.

Why it matters: The District doesn't have to wait to start acting more like a state.

Driving the news: A new coalition, Defend D.C., is pitching statehood as a political tool amid the nation's redistricting wars.

But there are creative ways D.C. can start checking boxes now for when — or if, for statehood-doomers — it becomes the Douglass Commonwealth.

1. Create a "Federal District"

D.C. can start treating the National Mall, Capitol, and White House as a distinct federal enclave.

Imagine U.S. seals and banners on Pennsylvania Avenue lampposts, heralding the seat of the federal government, Vatican City-like.
It would be more than a branding exercise: Statehood proposals envision shrinking the constitutionally mandated federal district into 2 square miles, with the rest of town becoming the 51st state.

Stylized map of the federal enclave in red on the left and gray surrounding area on the right, with river lines and landmark icons such as the Capitol. — An image of a D.C. state with the federal enclave carved out. Image: Courtesy of the Bowser administration

2. Build taller

How come Silver Spring gets 27-story buildings, while a few blocks down on Georgia Avenue, D.C. has a one-story Target? And Friendship Heights Village, on the Maryland side, can become the densest place in America?

D.C. can't unilaterally scrap the Height Act, which basically limits buildings to 13 floors. That's up to Congress. But city leaders haven't exactly rallied around getting rid of it for the sake of self-governance (quite the opposite).
While lobbying Congress is a natural start, D.C. can begin mapping out more high-density hubs in its outer neighborhoods, instead of treating them like bedroom communities for downtown.

3. More seats at the table

The proposed D.C. constitution, written 10 years ago, envisioned a bigger legislature. Why wait?

Under that proposal, the D.C. Council would grow from 13 members to 21, and its chairman would become the speaker.

4. Pay the statehood bill

This one's a political nonstarter, given D.C.'s recent budget gaps.

But statehood would bring new expenses. Congress spent almost $750 million on D.C.'s courts in 2021, plus about $520 million more for pensions, per the Congressional Budget Office's cost estimates.
It's time to start thinking about it.

5. Play governor

It might be the cheesiest card to pull, but Janeese Lewis George could start calling herself the governor.

Muriel Bowser still has four months to beat her to it.

💭 Town Talker is a column about money and power in Washington. Tell me about the talk of the town: [email protected].

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