Attorney General Ken Paxton today sent a letter to President Joe Biden and Congressional leaders, warning that passing the “Washington, D.C. Admission Act” is unconstitutional, unsound policy, and would create a super-state with unrivaled power.  

“Our Founding Fathers explicitly set aside a federal district to serve as the seat of government. It was never intended to operate as a state, and for good reason,” said Attorney General Paxton. “If Washington D.C. unlawfully becomes a state, which is what many Democrats are proposing now, it will not join the others in equal standing. Rather, it will create a super-state that has privilege and primacy over all others, which it will most likely use to promote policies that harm Texas. I will use every legal tool available to stop hyper-partisans and elites in DC from undermining our nation’s 50 States and granting themselves unlawful authority.”  

The District of Columbia’s creation is rooted in Article I, section 8, clause 17 of the Constitution, which says that the “Seat of the Government of the United States” shall be a district that is at most ten square miles and separate and apart from the other “particular States.” 

Read a copy of the letter here.