A Republican congressman from Florida has introduced legislation that would authorise the United States to annex Greenland and begin the process of making it the country’s 51st state, amid renewed pressure from President Donald Trump to bring the Arctic territory under US control.
Representative Randy Fine introduced the bill on Monday. Titled the “Greenland Annexation and Statehood Act”, it would allow the president to take steps to acquire Greenland and would set out a pathway for its eventual admission as a US state.
The bill authorises President Trump to “take such steps as may be necessary” to annex or otherwise acquire Greenland, including negotiations with the Kingdom of Denmark. It would also require the administration to submit a report to Congress detailing changes to federal law needed to admit the territory as a state once acquired.
“Greenland is not a distant outpost we can afford to ignore — it is a vital national security asset,” Fine said in a statement. He said control of Greenland would shape Arctic shipping lanes and the security framework protecting the United States.
Fine said the US could not allow Greenland’s future to fall into the hands of governments that, in his words, sought to undermine American security.
The bill follows repeated statements by Trump, who has said the United States would take Greenland “one way or the other”. He has raised the possibility of purchasing the territory or acquiring it by force, despite opposition from Denmark, a NATO ally.
Trump has argued that Greenland, which holds significant rare earth mineral resources, is critical to US national security. He has said Russia or China would otherwise move to take control of the island.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that there was no timeline for acquiring Greenland, but said it remained a priority for the president. She said Trump believed the territory could otherwise be taken by China or Russia.
Democratic lawmakers have responded with opposition. Representative Jimmy Gomez of California said he planned to introduce legislation to block federal funds from being used for any effort to take over Greenland. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut said on Sunday that any attempt to acquire the territory by force would mark the end of NATO.
“It would be the end of NATO,” Murphy said on NBC’s Meet the Press.
Denmark and Greenland have strongly rejected Trump’s position. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that a US armed takeover of Greenland would spell the end of the 32-member NATO alliance.
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said at a press conference on Wednesday that the territory would remain aligned with Denmark. “We choose Denmark over the US,” he said, adding: “Greenland is not for sale.”
On Monday, Nielsen said Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark and part of NATO through the Danish realm. He said Greenland’s security and defence belong within NATO and described that position as firm.
“There is much evidence that the hardest part now lies ahead of us,” Frederiksen said.
NATO and Greenland’s government said on Monday that they intended to work together to strengthen the island’s defence, a key concern cited by Trump.
Diplomatic engagement is continuing. Trump administration officials are due to meet Danish officials on Wednesday, according to diplomatic sources. Danish media reported that Vice President JD Vance, who travelled to Greenland last year, would attend.
Separately, a bipartisan US congressional delegation is scheduled to travel to Copenhagen later this week to signal support for the US–Denmark alliance. Senator Chris Coons of Delaware is leading the delegation, which includes at least nine lawmakers from both parties.
The group plans to meet senior Danish and Greenlandic officials and business leaders. Coons said the delegation wanted to stress that the United States did not seek to interfere in decisions about Greenland’s status.
Denmark is a founding member of NATO and has worked closely with the United States on defence and security, including after the 11 September 2001 attacks.
Greenland is a semiautonomous Danish territory above the Arctic Circle and hosts a major US military base. The island holds deposits of rare earth minerals, uranium, oil and natural gas, and its strategic importance is expected to increase as Arctic ice melts and sea routes open.