Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured congressional leaders during a classified briefing on Monday that recent administration warnings regarding Greenland do not indicate imminent military action and that purchasing the island from Denmark remains the objective, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the discussions.
The secretary of state's clarifications emerged as the White House has issued progressively hostile declarations about gaining control of the Arctic territory. US President Donald Trump and top administration officials have refused publicly to exclude forcibly seizing the self-governing island.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt declared in a statement that "President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it's vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region," The Wall Street Journal reported. "The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the US military is always an option at the commander in chief's disposal."
Alliance members have stated that an American assault on Greenland – a self-governing island under Danish sovereignty – would effectively destroy the decades-old political-military partnership, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Rubio's Monday comments occurred during a briefing conducted by senior administration officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine, for congressional leadership regarding the operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the administration's plans for that nation's future, The Wall Street Journal reported. Rubio handled most of the presentation, the sources stated.
The secretary of state's statements followed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer asking whether the Trump administration planned to deploy military force in additional locations, including Mexico and Greenland, one source told The Wall Street Journal.
Whether Rubio successfully eased lawmakers' worries remains unclear, but the Trump administration has consistently indicated it seeks to convince Denmark to transfer control of Greenland – the world's largest island, according to The Wall Street Journal. US and European officials report detecting no evidence of the White House organizing a military invasion of Greenland.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a steadfast Trump congressional supporter, characterized what the administration is pursuing regarding Greenland "is all about negotiations," The Wall Street Journal reported. Graham stated, "We need to have the legal control and the legal protections to justify building the place up and putting our people on the ground," according to The Wall Street Journal.
Surveys indicate that most Greenlanders oppose becoming part of the US, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Certain US lawmakers and European officials worry that the recent American military operation removing Maduro, combined with US strikes in Nigeria and Iran, suggest Trump shows greater willingness to employ force than during any previous period across his two presidencies, according to The Wall Street Journal.
During the briefing, Rubio minimized suggestions that the US could capture Greenland by force, the sources told The Wall Street Journal. Stephen Miller, among Trump's most trusted advisers, refused Monday during a television interview to rule out invading the island. Miller stated on CNN that "Nobody's going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland," The Wall Street Journal reported.
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One the day before that "We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security and the European Union needs us to have it and they know that," according to The Wall Street Journal. Trump maintains the US must gain control of Greenland to better protect the Arctic against Russia and China, The Wall Street Journal reported. He has also discussed openly the US government and American corporations obtaining enhanced access to the island's critical minerals.
Denmark has responded by repeatedly proposing that the US could station additional troops in Greenland and secure new and improved mining rights, according to The Wall Street Journal. Addressing Trump's Arctic security priorities, Denmark has funded the island's security infrastructure and announced plans to allocate billions of dollars toward new weapons, including ships and aircraft. However, Trump dismissed those initiatives Sunday, characterizing Copenhagen as effectively purchasing "one more dog sled," The Wall Street Journal reported.
Concern about aggressive American action has expanded throughout Europe, as six continental leaders joined Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in an extraordinary joint statement Tuesday, urging the US to work "collectively" with allies to address security priorities in the Arctic, according to The Wall Street Journal.
But Frederiksen delivered far more direct and forceful remarks Monday, informing local broadcaster DR that "everything would come to an end" if the US attacked a NATO country to seize Greenland, The Wall Street Journal reported. "The international community, as we know it, democratic rules of the game, NATO, the world's strongest defensive alliance, all of that would collapse if one NATO country chose to attack another."
