Murkowski, Shaheen push bill to block Trump from seizing Greenland
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) has teamed up with Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to introduce a bill to block President Trump from taking over Greenland.
The legislation, the NATO Unity Protection Act, would prohibit the use of Department of Defense or Department of State funding to blockade, occupy, annex or otherwise assert control over the sovereign territory of a NATO member state.
The legislation appears aimed directly at talk within the Trump administration about seizing control of Greenland, even though Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told senators at a briefing last week that they are not planning a military operation against Greenland.
It also comes as Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) joined House Democrats to introduce legislation called the No Funds for NATO Invasion Act, seeking to preemptively block the Trump administration from using military force to acquire Greenland.
Greenland is governed by Denmark, a NATO member that deployed 18,000 Danish troops alongside American forces during the Afghanistan War.
“The mere notion that America would use our vast resources against our allies is deeply troubling and must be wholly rejected by Congress in statute,” Murkowski said in a statement.
Their legislation would affirm that the strength of NATO is critical to U.S. national security and recognize that any occupation or takeover of the sovereign territory of a NATO ally would violate the U.N. Charter and the North Atlantic Treaty.
Shaheen said “any suggestion that the United States might use its power to seize or control the territory of a NATO ally would directly undermine the alliance that keeps Americans safe.”
Speculation about a U.S. takeover of Greenland surged last week after senior White House adviser Stephen Miller asserted in a CNN interview that Greenland rightfully belongs to the United States and that no country would pose a military challenge should the Trump administration attempt to take control of it.
“The United States should have Greenland as part of the United States. There’s no need to even think or talk about this in the context that you’re asking, of a military operation,” Miller told CNN’s Jake Tapper.
“Nobody’s going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland,” he declared.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
