Jan. 13 (UPI) — Republican Rep. Randy Fine introduced legislation Monday authorizing President Donald Trump to take measures necessary to acquire Greenland, amid renewed White House rhetoric about taking the autonomous Danish island.
The Greenland Annexation and Statehood Act, which is anything but assured of passage through the House, would give Trump the power to take the island, including through annexation, and require a report to be submitted to Congress detailing necessary changes to federal law to admit Greenland as the 51st state.
“Whoever controls Greenland controls key Arctic shipping lanes and the security architecture protecting the United States,” Fine, of Florida, said in a statement.
“America cannot leave that future in the hands of regimes that despise our values and seek to undermine our security.”
President Donald Trump has talked of the importance of Greenland to U.S. national security since his first term, but he has increased rhetoric about acquiring the island since returning to the White House last year.
Following the U.S. military abduction of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolas Maduro, earlier this month, and amid heightened geopolitical concerns, the Trump administration has increased its rhetoric about acquiring Greenland.
Trump said Sunday that the United States must control the territory, which is an autonomous island of Denmark, a NATO ally.
“One way or another, we’re going to have Greenland,” he said, adding that “if we don’t take Greenland, Russia or China will. And I’m not letting that happen.”
The threat to Greenland’s sovereignty has drawn staunch criticism from Democrats, Denmark and other European and NATO allies.
The U.S. Pituffik Space Force Base is located on Greenland, and Jesper Moller Sorensen, Denmark’s ambassador the United States, has said that since 1951, the United States has had the option to establish additional military bases and increase its military presence on the island.
Sorensen said he met with Fine on Monday and made clear that Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
“Together, [Greenland] & [Denmark] are ready to deepen our security cooperation w. [the United States] to strengthen our collective defense within @NATO,” Sorensen said on X.