Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) introduced a bill Monday that would set the US on a path to annex Greenland and ultimately admit it as the nation’s 51st state, amplifying President Donald Trump’s renewed push to acquire the Danish territory.
Bill Pushes Greenland Annexation And Statehood
Fine’s office said the measure, titled the “Greenland Annexation and Statehood Act,” aims to enable “the annexation and subsequent admission to statehood of Greenland.”
“Greenland is not a distant outpost we can afford to ignore — it is a vital national security asset,” Fine said in a press release. “Whoever controls Greenland controls key Arctic shipping lanes and the security architecture protecting the United States.”
“America cannot leave that future in the hands of regimes that despise our values and seek to undermine our security,” he added.
Text Lets Trump Negotiate With Denmark
The bill’s text authorizes Trump “to take such steps as may be necessary, including by seeking to enter into negotiations with the Kingdom of Denmark, to annex or otherwise acquire Greenland as a territory of the United States.” After any acquisition, the president would be required to send Congress a report recommending federal law changes “necessary to admit the newly acquired territory as a State.”
White House Says No Takeover Timeline
At the White House on Monday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters outside the White House that there was not a “timeline” for a takeover. “[Trump] has not set a timeline, but it’s definitely a priority for him,” Leavitt said, adding that Trump has argued the U.S. should acquire Greenland to prevent it from being “acquired or even perhaps hostilely taken over” by China or Russia.
Democrats have warned that Trump’s rhetoric risks detonating alliances. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) of Connecticut said Sunday that US action to seize Greenland by force “would be the end of NATO,” speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet with Danish officials on Wednesday to discuss Greenland.
Photo courtesy: Joshua Sukoff / Shutterstock.com
Recent Comments