GOP Rep Randy Fine introduces bill to make Greenland 51st US state: 'Vital national security asset'

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA: Republican Representative Randy Fine of Florida introduced a bill to make Greenland the 51st state of the United States, following President Donald Trump’s recent push to acquire the region.

The GOP lawmaker introduced the Greenland Annexation and Statehood Act on Monday, January 12, according to a press release from his office. The release said the bill’s goals include enabling “the annexation and subsequent admission to statehood of Greenland.”

Randy Fine says Greenland is a 'vital national security asset'

Randy Fine said in a press release, “Greenland is not a distant outpost we can afford to ignore, it is a vital national security asset. Whoever controls Greenland controls key Arctic shipping lanes and the security architecture protecting the United States.”

“America cannot leave that future in the hands of regimes that despise our values and seek to undermine our security,” the GOP representative added.

According to the bill, President Trump “is authorized to take such steps as may be necessary, including by seeking to enter into negotiations with the Kingdom of Denmark, to annex or otherwise acquire Greenland as a territory of the United States.”  

The bill also states that after the United States acquires Greenland, Trump must submit a report to Congress outlining potential federal law changes “as the president may determine necessary to admit the newly acquired territory as a State.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that there was not a “timeline” for the United States to take over Greenland. “President Trump has not set a timeline, but it’s definitely a priority for him,” she told reporters. 

Leavitt added, “I think the president was very clear last night. He said that he wants to see the United States acquire Greenland because he feels if we do not, then it will eventually be acquired or even perhaps hostilely taken over by either China or Russia.”

Tim Kaine says Trump’s Greenland rhetoric could trigger crisis

Democratic Senator Tim Kaine warned on Sunday, January 11, that President Donald Trump’s escalating rhetoric about acquiring Greenland could trigger a geopolitical crisis, predicting that any attempt to use American force would be “disastrous” and could effectively end NATO.

Appearing on CBS’ 'Face the Nation,' the senator said there is broad bipartisan opposition in Congress to any move toward coercion or military action against Denmark, which retains sovereignty over the semi-autonomous territory. He told host Margaret Brennan, “I think Congress will stop him, both Democrats and Republicans.”

Kaine was responding to Trump’s remarks on January 9, when the president reiterated his desire to acquire Greenland and issued an ultimatum.

The president said, “I would like to make a deal the easy way, but if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way.”

Meanwhile, Kaine said, “We’re not going to do it the hard way, and we’re not going to do it the easy way either. We’re going to continue to work with Denmark as a sovereign nation that we’re allied with, and we’re not going to treat them as an adversary or as an enemy.”