U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) walks past protesters as Pete Marrocco, candidate for deputy director of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), attends a meeting with lawmakers to discuss foreign aid at the Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 5, 2025. March 5, 2025.
Kent Nishimura | Reuters
President Donald Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill are downplaying his threat to seize Greenland by force. To them, it’s just the art of the trade, alluding to his popular 1987 book.
Republicans largely agreed after President Trump ordered a strike over the weekend to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro without Congressional approval. President Trump has not ruled out military action to annex Greenland, but some Republicans argue that his aggressive stance is a bluff aimed at securing a deal that increases U.S. influence over the Arctic island.
“He’s from New York, he’s one of the best negotiators, and sometimes the way he negotiates is everything is on the table,” Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), who served as Interior Secretary during President Trump’s first term, said in an interview with CNBC.
“I think Secretary of State (Marco) Rubio is correct in his disdain for landing Marines in Greenland,” Zinke said. “I will support negotiating a deal with Denmark to ensure that Denmark continues to influence the West.”
President Trump has long coveted Greenland, an autonomous territory of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally Denmark. He argued that U.S. influence on the island is critical to national security in deterring Russian and Chinese aggression. The president redoubled efforts to make the island part of the United States after Maduro was captured in a raid by Venezuela and taken to New York to face drug charges.
“The President and his team are discussing various options for pursuing this important foreign policy objective. Of course, the use of U.S. troops is always an option at the discretion of the Commander-in-Chief,” White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt said in a statement to CNBC on Tuesday about the Greenland plan.
The effort has upset European leaders and infuriated Denmark, which along with Greenland has repeatedly rejected Trump’s overtures.
“Greenland belongs to the people. Denmark and Greenland, and they alone, decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Chancellor Keir Starmer, and the leaders of Italy, Spain and Poland said in a joint statement earlier this week.
As Zinke argued, moderate Republicans are comfortable with the idea that Trump is just negotiating. Preserving the NATO alliance remains a top priority on Capitol Hill.
“There’s clearly a strategic national security importance in terms of the Arctic, NATO, and the fight against Russia,” said Rep. Mike Lawler (R.N.Y.).
“If we could enter into negotiations with Denmark or Greenland, that would be great. The idea of occupying by force, no… there is strong bipartisan opposition to any use of force regarding Greenland,” Lawler said.
Congressman Mike Lawler (R-New York) speaks to reporters before voting to pass the American Rescue Act at the Capitol in Washington, U.S., on December 19, 2024.
Anna Rose Leyden | Reuters
Rep. Nick Larota, a fellow New York Republican, agreed, saying, “I think the Trump administration is used to saying that for Trump, it’s all about deals, it’s all about negotiations, there’s a lot at stake, and no options are taken off the table, but don’t read too much into that.”
Democrats were outraged at the prospect of President Trump leading the military into Greenland, warning that it would shatter the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance that has kept the United States and Europe safe since World War II.
Sen. Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat, said Tuesday he plans to introduce a resolution known as the “War Powers Resolution” to block President Trump’s orders for military action.
And Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said in an interview with CNBC that he is working on a new war powers resolution in the House.
“People around him need to intervene,” McGovern said. “He wants to destroy our NATO alliance and blow it up… He’s just not feeling well, what he’s saying is very harmful to our country.”
Some Republicans agree with Democrats. Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska) called President Trump’s actions in Greenland “horrible.”
“It’s causing a lot of long-term anger and injury to our European friends,” Bacon said. “I feel like there’s a lot of high school kids playing Risk.”
And Senator Thom Tillis (RN.C.) issued a joint statement with Senator Jeanne Shaheen (DN.H.) asserting, “Any suggestion that we will subject our NATO allies to coercion or external pressure undermines the very principle of self-determination that our alliance exists to protect.”
Even President Trump’s allies generally agree that military action requires Congressional approval. They argued that because the United States was performing a law enforcement function, the actions that detained Mr. Maduro were not.
“This requires Congressional approval,” Zinke said. “That doesn’t apply to the litmus test for Venezuela or some of the other issues he’s been talking about.”
“Russia and China have absolutely no fear of NATO without the United States. I don’t think NATO would work together for us if we really needed it,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday.
“We will always be there for NATO, even if NATO does not cooperate with us,” he said.
Leading House Republicans on Capitol Hill have so far backed President Trump in his pursuit of Greenland, continuing to insist that the threats are all part of a negotiating strategy. “The post-World War II order is by no means over,” said Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
“There is no goal at this point to dismantle NATO, and what we are looking for is whether we can come to some good agreement in this place, which is a very strategic location not only for the United States but also for other countries,” he said.
CNBC’s Emily Wilkins and Justin Papp contributed to this report.
