A bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers met the leaders of Denmark and Greenland on Friday (January 16) to reassure them of congressional support, despite President Donald Trump's threats to seize the Arctic island.

Trump has said Greenland is vital to U.S. security because of its strategic location and large supply of minerals and has not ruled out the use of force to take it.

The 11-member U.S. delegation, led by Democratic Senator Chris Coons, also includes Republican Senators Thom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski, while the rest were Democratic lawmakers.

Following a meeting with Greenlandic lawmakers, Murkowski said Greenland needed to be viewed as “our ally, not as an asset” and Coons said he hoped to return to the United States to share insights from his trip “so that we can lower the temperature and have a more constructive dialogue about the best path forward”.

Just 17% of Americans approve of President Donald Trump's efforts to acquire Greenland, and large majorities of Democrats and Republicans oppose using military force to annex the island, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found. Trump has called the poll "fake".

The congressional visit follows a high-stakes meeting at the White House on Wednesday (January 14), where Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt met Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK (JANUARY 16, 2026)(REUTERS – Access all)

1. GREENLANDIC MEMBER OF DANISH PARLIAMENT, AAJA CHEMNITZ, REPUBLICAN SENATOR LISA MURKOWSKI AND DEMOCRATIC SENATOR CHRIS COONS, LEAVING MEETING ROOM AND WALKING UP TO MICROPHONES

2. MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES

3. (SOUNDBITE)(English) REPUBLICAN SENATOR LISA MURKOWSKI, SAYING:

“Greenland needs to be viewed as our ally, not as an asset. And I think that's what you're hearing with this delegation.”

4. NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS

5. (SOUNDBITE)(English) REPUBLICAN SENATOR LISA MURKOWSKI, SAYING:

“It is important to underscore that when you ask the American people whether or not they think it is a good idea for the United States to acquire Greenland, the vast majority, some 75%, will say ‘we do not think that that is a good idea’. This senator from Alaska does not think it is a good idea. And I want to build on the relationship that we have had.”

6. MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES

7. NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS

8. (SOUNDBITE)(English) DEMOCRATIC SENATOR CHRIS COONS, SAYING:

“And part of the point of this trip is to have a bipartisan group of members of Congress listen respectfully to our friends, our trusted allies and partners here in Denmark and from Greenland, and to go back to the United States and share those perspectives so that we can lower the temperature and have a more constructive dialogue about the best path forward.”

9. MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES

10. NEWS CONFERENCE ENDS

11. MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES WAITING DURING MEETING

12. DEMOCRATIC HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE MEMBER, GREGORY MEEKS, ARRIVING EARLIER

13. REPUBLICAN SENATOR LISA MURKOWSKI BEING INTERVIEWED

14. DEMOCRATIC HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE MEMBER, STENY HOYER, BEING INTERVIEWED

15. (SOUNDBITE)(English) DEMOCRATIC HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE MEMBER, STENY HOYER, SAYING, ON WHETHER THEY CAN HELP THE SITUATION:

“Ultimately, the answer is we can, and hopefully we will. And I say hopefully we will because obviously the Republican Party in Congress has been very silent, even when they disagree with this president. But can we? Yes, we can. And are we going to try? Yes, we are.”

16. DEMOCRATIC SENATOR PETER WELCH TAKING PHOTOGRAPH, PUTS HIS MOBILE PHONE IN A LOCKER

17. HOYER AND MEEKS WALKING TOWARDS MEETING ROOM

18. MEMBER OF THE GREENLANDIC FOREIGN AND SECURITY POLICY COMMITTEE, ERIK JENSEN

19. VARIOUS OF DEMOCRATIC SENATOR JEANNE SHAHEEN ENTERING ROOM

20. DOOR BEING CLOSED