Arctic Caucus co-Chairs Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Angus King (I-Maine) will meet on Wednesday with Danish Ambassador Jesper Møller Sørensen to reaffirm their opposition to President Donald Trump’s effort to acquire Greenland.
The closed-door meeting comes as Trump has floated the idea of obtaining Greenland “one way or another” — rhetoric that has drawn sharp rebukes from Copenhagen and Nuuk. The idea of taking over the Danish territory has met resistance from some senior Republicans and outright opposition from Democrats.
Murkowski said she would support a war powers resolution to bar Trump from taking action to invade Greenland, if it were offered. A bipartisan group of House lawmakers has introduced like-minded legislation that covers any NATO ally.
“There’s been a lot of talk about that, which, in fairness, is crazy,” Murkowski said in an interview, referring to speculation that Congress could eventually invoke war powers authorities in connection with Greenland. “Who would have ever thought you would say the word Greenland in the same sentence as war powers resolution?”
The new legislation comes as Hill Democrats search for ways to keep the Trump administration from taking further military action in Venezuela. The Senate is poised to vote this week on a war powers resolution tied to Venezuela, though its path in the House remains unclear.
Trump administration officials, meanwhile, are openly discussing options — including the use of force — to seize Greenland, a move that would trigger NATO’s mutual defense clause and risk shattering the alliance.
“It’s easier,” Trump said Sunday, referring to buying the island. “But one way or the other, we’re going to have Greenland.”
Murkowski said the goal of Wednesday’s meeting — with Møller Sørensen and other officials from Denmark and Greenland — is “a constructive dialogue” with Danish and Greenlandic officials and to underscore that Capitol Hill is not a bystander as Arctic tensions rise.
“We here in this Congress actually have a role, have some input on whether or not it might be appropriate to take some of these actions that the president is suggesting,” she said.
Murkowski said she will travel to Copenhagen later this week with a small bipartisan bicameral group to reinforce congressional concerns directly with Danish leaders.
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