House GOP crafts bill to let Trump purchase Greenland
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President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Jan. 7, 2025. Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images.
House Republicans on Monday introduced a bill that would allow President-elect Trump to enter into negotiations with Denmark to acquire Greenland.
Why it matters: It's the latest in a series of proposed Republican legislation to bring Trump's vision of a new, sprawling American empire to fruition.
- Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) last week introduced a bill that would have the Gulf of Mexico renamed the "Gulf of America" on official documents and maps.
- Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) also introduced a bill last week along with 15 other Republicans that would authorize talks to repurchase the Panama Canal.
Driving the news: Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) is introducing the two-page "Make Greenland Great Again Act," which was first reported by Fox News.
- The bill would authorize the president — at the moment of Trump's swearing in on Jan. 20 — to "seek to enter into negotiations with the Kingdom of Denmark to secure the acquisition of Greenland by the United States."
- The bill would give Congress the ability to block any agreement within 60 days, though it would need a veto-proof two-thirds majority in both chambers to do so.
By the numbers: Ogles, a member of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus, has 10 GOP co-sponsors, including some moderate and establishment members like Reps. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Mike Rulli (R-Ohio).
- Seven of the co-sponsors, including Lawler and Rulli, are also among the 15 who co-sponsored Dusty Johnson's Panama Canal bill.
Zoom out: Trump and his allies have continued to make noise about acquiring Greenland even as both Danish and Greenlandic leaders have pushed back on the idea.
- Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. visited the island territory last week and Vice President-elect JD Vance said Sunday there is a "deal to be made."
- Trump himself has declined to rule out the use of military force to acquire Greenland and the Panama Canal — which the leaders of Panama are similarly reluctant to give up.
- The Danish government sent private messages to the Trump team expressing willingness to discuss increased U.S. military presence in Greenland, Axios' Barak Ravid and Dave Lawler reported.
Between the lines: To be approved by Congress, the bill would almost certainly need Democratic support.
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have scoffed at Trump's imperialist ambitions.
- But some centrist Democrats aren't ruling out working with Trump on the idea, noting the geopolitical importance of both territories.
