Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Tuesday that talk of using the U.S. military to seize Greenland is "not under serious consideration," dismissing remarks from a top White House adviser as the Trump administration leans into a muscular foreign policy agenda and renewed competition in the Arctic.
Thune told reporters that military action was unrealistic, even as the administration weighs ways to expand U.S. influence in the region and protect access to critical minerals and strategic shipping routes.
"I think that's probably getting the cart ahead of the horse," Thune said. "I don't see military action being an option there."
Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark, a U.S. ally and NATO member. Denmark controls foreign affairs and defense for the island, while Greenland's government runs most domestic matters.
The territory, much of it covered by ice, has long drawn U.S. security attention because of its location between North America and Europe and the presence of a key American military installation, Pituffik Space Base, used for missile warning and space surveillance.
Thune said he led a bipartisan congressional delegation to Denmark last year and heard Danish leaders' views directly.
"They're very passionate about Greenland," he said.
While rejecting a military takeover, Thune said the United States could explore a broader commercial and strategic role through diplomacy, with negotiations involving Denmark and Greenland's residents.
"If there's something there that could be mutually worked out, obviously it's of interest to national security and the Arctic," he said.
The comments came after White House adviser Stephen Miller raised the stakes in a recent television interview, arguing that Greenland "should have" been part of the United States and asserting that Denmark would not oppose an expanded U.S. military posture there.
"Nobody's going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland," Miller said.
The debate is playing out against a fast-moving backdrop for President Donald Trump's second-term foreign policy.
Over the weekend, U.S. forces carried out an operation in Venezuela that U.S. officials and some media accounts described as removing Nicolas Maduro from power, and Maduro was later brought to the United States to face criminal charges, according to reporting on his court appearance.
Some Republicans sought to draw a line between the two situations.
"Greenland's a different deal," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said, adding that U.S. allies favor a stronger American role in the Arctic to counter Russian and Chinese activity.
Graham said the administration is focused on what legal and political arrangements would be required if the United States is to invest more in Greenland's economy and security infrastructure.
Trump has publicly argued that Greenland is essential to U.S. security and has repeatedly signaled interest in a closer U.S. relationship with the island, proposals that Greenlandic and Danish leaders have consistently rejected.
Denmark in recent years has also moved to bolster Arctic defense spending and has expanded agreements that allow broader U.S. military access on Danish territory, steps that underscore the countries' shared security interests and the sensitivity around sovereignty.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.