Sen. Ruben Gallego said Tuesday that he was introducing a resolution to block President Donald Trump from invading Greenland.
“WAKE UP,” Gallego, D-Ariz., wrote on the social media site X, as the Trump administration ratcheted up rhetoric about the United States taking over Greenland, which is a self-governing Danish territory.
“Trump is telling us exactly what he wants to do. We must stop him before he invades another country on a whim,” Gallego wrote. “I’m introducing a resolution to block Trump from invading Greenland. No more forever wars.”
Trump, in an interview over the weekend with The Atlantic magazine, said he would leave it to others to determine if the recent U.S. attack on Venezuela to capture its leader, Nicolas Maduro, had implications for Greenland. But he also said, “We do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defense.”
“We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it, I can tell you,” Trump said separately on Sunday aboard Air Force One.
Gallego on Monday introduced an amendment to the Senate Defense Appropriations bill to prohibit the use of funds for military force against Greenland.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) walks out of the Senate Chamber of the U.S. Capitol Building on Oct. 1, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images
“President Trump believes Greenland is a strategically important location that is critical from the standpoint of national security, and he is confident Greenlanders would be better served if protected by the United States from modern threats in the Arctic region,” a White House spokeswoman said in a statement Tuesday.
“The President is committed to establishing long-term peace at home and abroad,” the spokeswoman said.
Also on Tuesday, the governments of Denmark and Greenland asked to meet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to “discuss the significant statement made by the United States about Greenland,” according to a statement by Greenland’s Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt.
Motzfeldt said that the “Greenlandic and Danish governments have requested a meeting at the ministerial level throughout 2025” without success.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, was asked by reporters on Capitol Hill earlier Tuesday if he was concerned about the attack on Venezuela spreading to Cuba and Greenland.
“I hope it does spread to Cuba. Greenland’s a different deal,” Graham said. “Everybody wants us to have a bigger presence in Greenland to combat the Russian/Chinese Arctic influence. I totally agree with that. Well, I think Trump’s asking, what’s the legal relationship we’re going to have?”
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told reporters on the Hill on Tuesday, “If I’m a European member of NATO, I would reassess my participation in the endeavor if NATO countries are being invaded by Donald Trump.”
Asked if NATO countries would have to defend Greenland against the United States, Murphy said, “Of course, yes.”
“That’s what Article 5 says. Article 5 did not anticipate that the invading country would be a member of NATO,” Murphy said. “We’re laughing, but this is not actually something to laugh about now because I think he’s increasingly serious.”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Sunday urged the United States “to stop the threats against a historically close ally and against another country and another people who have said very clearly that they are not for sale.”
“The Kingdom of Denmark — and thus Greenland — is part of NATO and is therefore covered by the alliance’s security guarantee,” she said.
“We already have a defense agreement between the Kingdom and the United States today, which gives the United States wide access to Greenland,” Frederiksen said.
