Questions tagged [washington-dc]

Questions about the District of Columbia, the capital and the seat of government of the United States. Always use the [united-states] tag when using this tag.

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3 votes
1 answer
183 views

Did Mayor Bowser declare a state of emergency over a health insurance issue?

Radio station WTOP is reporting that Washington, DC mayor Muriel Bowser has declared an "emergency" over a health insurance contracting issue. WTOP calls the order a "public emergency&...
6 votes
1 answer
297 views

The next steps for S.51 Washington Statehood bill

The proposed Washington, D.C. Admission Act (S.51) would, if I understand it correctly, pave the way for the immediate election of two senators from the new Douglass Commonwealth state. In all ...
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2 votes
1 answer
345 views

Is this a theoretical 23rd Amendment workaround?

The 23rd Amendment says (paraphrasing) that the District of Columbia has three electoral votes (exact wording will be at the end). Even if the rest of DC were granted statehood, the federal district ...
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4 votes
1 answer
241 views

Doesn't DC home rule violate the nondelegation doctrine?

If "All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress...", with courts interpreting this as Congress not being allowed to delegate its lawmaking powers to anyone else; And,...
6 votes
1 answer
217 views

D C statehood timeline

Let's assume DC statehood passes Congress this summer. How soon after that could it have elections for House and Senate? How soon could those members be seated? Would they need a state constitution ...
2 votes
1 answer
297 views

What would it take for the District of Columbia to be made a state?

It seems the Biden administration supports the recognition of the District of Columbia as another US state. This raises the question of what will it take for this to happen? Obviously, such a state ...
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3 votes
1 answer
139 views

Is there a "unified command" over all the defense forces in Washington D.C.?

A Unified Combatant Command is a task organized command structure used to coordinate forces around one objective. Examples include CENTCOM (https://www.centcom.mil/), which coordinates the armed ...
4 votes
1 answer
143 views

What are the arguments against absorbing DC into another state? [duplicate]

In this video here by Vox, it describes the case for DC statehood. DC’s delegate Holmes Norton has proposed making the District of Columbia a brand new state, and shrinking the neutral federal ...
19 votes
1 answer
2k views

What determines who gets to stay in the Presidential Townhouse / Trowbridge House?

The Presidential Townhouse (716 Jackson Place NW) is a government property near the White House reserved for the exclusive use of former presidents of the United States during visits to the capital. ...
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3 votes
1 answer
255 views

Can members of congress carry weapons into the chamber?

Congresswoman Boebert has stated that she will bring a loaded glock into the DC. The article here says that weapons can be carried around the streets of Washington D.C but a permit is required. ...
12 votes
1 answer
2k views

Why was there a man holding an Indian Flag during the insurrection at the US Capitol?

Why was there a man holding an Indian Flag during the insurrection at the US Capitol? Is there any connection between Indians and Trump supporters? Both India and the U.S are democratic counties.
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41 votes
5 answers
9k views

What authority does the Vice President have to mobilize the National Guard?

After the attack on the US Capitol by pro-Trump groups, the DC National Guard was eventually called in to restore order. Strangely, it is being reported that Vice President Mike Pence was the one who ...
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4 votes
1 answer
302 views

Why has Washington DC trended more Democratic over time?

It is well known that Washington, DC is very heavily Democratic. It is more Democratic than any actual state. However, since 1976 or so, DC has usually (though not always) been more Dem-leaning than ...
6 votes
1 answer
291 views

Why does Washington DC elect a Delegate to the House AND a United State Representative?

I live in Washington DC. Here's a sample ballot (PDF). We vote for a Delegate to the House of Representatives. The incumbent, Eleanor Holmes Norton, is a local celebrity. Why do we have a separate ...
-4 votes
1 answer
318 views

With DC statehood, what is the proposal for not giving 3 electoral votes to the president and his family? [closed]

Recently a bill passed the House, which would give statehood to DC, except for a few core areas including the White House. This would mean that the president and his family would control three ...
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2 votes
1 answer
422 views

How many electoral college votes would the District of Columbia be entitled to if the least populous state cap did not apply?

How many electoral college votes would the District of Columbia be entitled to if the least-populous-state-cap did not apply? What process is used to determine this alternate maximum value? The 23rd ...
-1 votes
2 answers
86 views

Range of vote percentages in DC in 2012 and 2016 for president?

I want to know the range of two-party votes for the Republican presidential candidate that 95% of precincts fell in. The other 5% has slightly less or more. And, I would like to see a bar graph for ...
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2 votes
1 answer
258 views

What exactly is the "Trout" in this D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals opinion? Does it suggest a political motive of a judge?

Edited to reflect why I feel this question is on-topic here. The following is excerpted from Politico's Appeals court deals setback to Flynn’s attempt to end DOJ case against him: The D.C. Circuit ...
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4 votes
4 answers
486 views

Will the creation of a Washington DC state be unconstitutional?

If the House of Representatives and the US Senate ever pass a bill duly signed by the President creating a new state out of Washington DC can it be held as unconstitutional as it is required by the US ...
-8 votes
2 answers
213 views

What is the argument for granting statehood to the District of Columbia, but not to larger cities such as NYC?

According to statistics, there are ~19 million people living in the NYC metropolitan area. In comparison, there are only ~2.8 million people in the DC/Baltimore metropolitan area, which is ~7 times ...
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11 votes
3 answers
3k views

Why does DC want to become a new state rather than merging into Maryland?

According to the list of US states and territories by area, DC is 22 times smaller than the smallest state (Rhode Island). Despite this fact, there is currently a push to turn DC into an independent ...
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16 votes
1 answer
4k views

If D.C. were to be granted statehood, what would it be called?

If the District of Columbia would be granted statehood, what would become its name as a state? Its official name does not include "Washington", that's the city's name. And one of the United ...
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54 votes
4 answers
11k views

What do Democrats gain from pushing for DC statehood?

The House just voted for Washington DC to become a state, almost exclusively along party lines. While the arguments for statehood aren't new, equality for ethnic minorities is a greater concern ...
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9 votes
2 answers
2k views

Would it take any sort of amendment to make DC a state?

To achieve statehood for DC, would an amendment to the Constitution need to be passed, or would it just work like a regular territory, i.e. only needing Congress to pass a law?
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45 votes
5 answers
35k views

Why is DC so, so, so Democratic?

Looking at Wikipedia’s page on the 2016 election, I see that Clinton got 90.48% of DC’s vote; Trump only got 4.07%. This is by far the most any candidate got in any state; behind it is it Nebraska’s ...
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4 votes
1 answer
315 views

Confused about Emancipation Day and Tax Day

Washington DC celebrates Emancipation Day on the weekday nearest April 16th. Wikipedia says: As the federal government observes the holiday, it causes the federal and all state tax deadlines to be ...
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2 votes
1 answer
371 views

If the Capitol weren't available, where would Congress hold votes?

Suppose that a meteor strikes the Capitol building in the middle of the night. No one is close enough to be hurt, but the building is destroyed and totally unusable. Where would Congress hold its ...
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