U.S. Congress Sidesteps Greenland Debate in Defense Spending Bill
Ongoing reports and analysis
Faced with U.S. President Donald Trump’s escalating threats of a hostile takeover of Greenland, Congress appears likely to continue sidelining itself after demurring from using a must-pass defense spending bill to set down firm markers about what is and isn’t allowable when it comes to using U.S. military force to annex the semi-autonomous Danish territory.
The text of the final package of fiscal 2026 spending bills, which includes the all-important defense spending measure, did not include any mention of NATO or Greenland when it was released Tuesday by senior Republican and Democratic negotiators from the House and Senate.
Faced with U.S. President Donald Trump’s escalating threats of a hostile takeover of Greenland, Congress appears likely to continue sidelining itself after demurring from using a must-pass defense spending bill to set down firm markers about what is and isn’t allowable when it comes to using U.S. military force to annex the semi-autonomous Danish territory.
The text of the final package of fiscal 2026 spending bills, which includes the all-important defense spending measure, did not include any mention of NATO or Greenland when it was released Tuesday by senior Republican and Democratic negotiators from the House and Senate.
Specifically, the legislation contained no prohibition on the use of federal funds to attack a NATO ally, as Trump repeatedly seemed to threaten to do this month with regards to Denmark, in addition to threatening tariffs against European countries that oppose his push to........
