A top House Democrat said Wednesday that U.S. troops would be following “illegal orders” from President Trump if they used military force against Greenland without congressional authorization.
Rep. Ted Lieu, California Democrat and vice chair of the caucus, said the U.S. has “no legal justification whatsoever to use military force against a NATO ally, against Greenland.”
“And if any military member, including the generals on down to enlisted members, if any of them participate in a use of military force against Greenland without congressional authorization, they are following illegal orders,” Mr. Lieu told reporters. “That’s simply a fact.”
The White House said this week it wants to negotiate with Denmark over Greenland, but that military action is “always an option.”
Mr. Lieu’s comments mirror those made by six Democratic lawmakers in a video that went viral late last year, urging U.S. military members not to follow any illegal orders. Mr. Lieu was not in the video.
Mr. Trump called the video “seditious behavior at the highest level.”
One of the six lawmakers in the video, Sen. Mark Kelly, Arizona Democrat, is still battling fallout from it. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier this week issued a formal letter of censure, beginning a process to demote and cut Mr. Kelly’s military pension.
The letter could result in a reduction in Mr. Kelly’s military rank and pension.
House Democratic Chair Pete Aguilar of California also criticized the administration’s aggressive rhetoric about Greenland, saying “it’s just completely unhinged” that White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller “is allowed to say” what might happen with the island.
“But they’re saying the quiet part out loud, right? They’re threatening a NATO ally in Greenland and Denmark, and I think it’s deeply frustrating to us,” Mr. Aguilar said. “As much as Speaker [Mike] Johnson and Republicans want to say that that’s not true. That’s exactly what the president is saying.”
Mr. Miller told CNN’s Jake Tapper Monday that Mr. Trump’s position is “that the United States should be the nation that has Greenland as part of our overall security apparatus. That is the formal position of the U.S. government.”
“The United States is the power of NATO. For the United States to secure the Arctic region, to protect and defend NATO and NATO interests, obviously, Greenland should be part of the United States,” Mr. Miller said.
Mr. Miller said, “Nobody’s going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.”
Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican, said Wednesday the administration is not seriously considering military action but is instead pursuing “diplomatic channels.”
“We’re not at war with Greenland,” Mr. Johnson said. “We have no reason to be at war with Greenland. Everybody knows there’s a geopolitical and strategic importance of that landmass, and that’s what everyone is talking about.”
“All this stuff about military action and all that, I don’t even think that’s a possibility,” he said. “I don’t think anybody’s seriously considering that, and in the Congress, we’re certainly not.”
But Mr. Trump has been consistent about his desire to obtain Greenland, an idea he also mentioned during his first term. Greenland is an autonomous territory within Denmark. The president has said Greenland is needed for national security reasons.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday that Mr. Trump’s stance is clear. “He views it in the best interest of the United States to deter Russian and Chinese aggression in the Arctic Region” by obtaining Greenland, she said.
“That’s why his team is currently talking about what a potential purchase would look like,” she said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that he plans to meet with Danish officials next week to discuss Greenland.
But the acquisition would be an uphill battle. In a joint statement Tuesday, the leaders of France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Poland and the U.K. wrote that the countries would not accept a U.S. takeover.
“Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland,” the statement said.
– Lindsey McPherson contributed to this report.
