Is Washington DC A City Or A State?

This question isn’t the easiest to answer. Not because it’s difficult to determine whether Washington D.C. is a city or something else, like with Arlington, VA. It is difficult to answer this question because of the potential changes that might occur in the future.

As of June 2021, the city of Washington D.C., also known as the District of Columbia, and informally referred to as The District, D.C. or, simply, Washington, is a city. The capital city of the United States of America. This question is relevant if you consider the current demands and policies pushed on the Hill (Capitol Hill) to change Washington D.C.’s status. Why would they want to change the capital’s status, you might wonder? Because D.C. does not belong to any state, and this affects the rights of the residents living in the capital.

Why would Washington D.C. be a state?

There are many reasons why entities are pushing this agenda and trying to make it happen. You might not be aware that Washingtonians don’t have the same rights as citizens of any other state simply because they don’t live in a state. 

Washington D.C. does not belong to Maryland or Virginia. While it was initially created from territories belonging to each of those states, it only occupies the region that used to be a part of Maryland. But Washingtonians aren’t citizens of the state of Maryland.

While the reasons for which entities want to transform Washington D.C. into the 51st state are complicated, one fact remains simple. Because of its particular formation and type of government, the mayor of Washington D.C. can not truly defend the city’s residents. In some instances, if the National Guard is required or other cases of major force, only the President can summon the National Guard. Any other state has the right to defend itself through the use of the National Guard by following the chain of command, but Washington D.C. can not.

For the time being, those who are thinking of contacting the local realtors in Washington DC to help them relocate to the city should know that the nation’s capital is the capital city of the US, with emphasis on “city”.