Trump's Greenland and Panama Canal ambitions face Republican skepticism

Republican lawmakers are scratching their heads over President-elect Trump’s ambitions to take over Greenland and the Panama Canal, grand plans the incoming commander in chief put back on the table over the Christmas and New Year’s recess.

GOP senators and House members view the prospect of the United States taking over Greenland as particularly outlandish, but they are leery of confronting Trump.

The idea of resuming direct U.S. control over the Panama Canal also seems unlikely, but some Republican lawmakers say the United States has a vital national security interest in protecting the canal’s neutrality.

They also warn that China is trying to expand its influence in Central and South America, which may be why Trump floated the idea shortly before Christmas of regaining control of the canal.

But senior Republicans on Capitol Hill don’t see a path for Trump acquiring Greenland or the Panama Canal and point out there’s been no serious discussion of those ideas in Washington since Trump left the White House four years ago.

“I don’t think it’s for sale,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the former chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said of Greenland, chuckling.

McCaul said China has a presence on both ends of the Panama Canal but he doesn’t see a path for the United States getting it back.

“He’s probably referring somewhat to that, but I’m not sure legally how you can purchase that, if that’s what he’s talking about,” he said.

McCaul laughed when asked whether Trump would mull a possible military invasion of Greenland or Panama, replying: “I don’t think so.”

“I think he’s kind of freely speaking. He’d love to have Greenland. He seems to really like Greenland a lot,” he said of Trump.

“I think he thinks that Jimmy Carter — God rest his soul — sold it for a dollar and that was not a good deal,” he said of the Panama Canal. “We gave up a lot.”

McCaul said lawmakers should brace themselves for Trump floating major foreign policy ideas off the cuff, something that’s already causing agitation on Capitol Hill.

“You’re going to see a lot more. It’s the way Trump is. You try to dissect what’s reality, what’s not,” he said.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) laughed when asked about Trump’s territorial designs on Greenland and the Panama Canal. He noted that the United States has a history of territorial expansion, even though it’s not being discussed seriously outside of Trump’s social media account.

“The United States has not always been 50 states. We’ve acquired Alaska and the Hawaiian Islands and even Texas in 1845, so I haven’t heard any real discussions outside of what President Trump said,” Cornyn said.

Cornyn, showing due deference to the president elect, said he’s “willing to listen” to what Trump has in mind but didn’t seem to expect any detailed proposal would come to Congress soon.

One Republican senator joked that Greenland is ripe for the taking because it doesn’t have a standing military of any consequence.  

“I wonder where their Army and Navy are going to come from,” the senator quipped.

Trump caught the policymaking establishment by surprise last month when he posted on social media that the “United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”

Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) offered a dollop of understatement in describing Trump’s ambitions to take over Greenland and the Panama Canal.

“I think he was speaking aspirationally,” he said of the president-elect.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), a staunch Trump ally and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the president-elect is serious about taking over Greenland.

“I think he’s serious about that, and I think he’s serious about the Panama Canal,” he said.

But Scott conceded he didn’t know how Trump would go about getting Denmark and Panama to buy into his vision. Greenland is a territory of Denmark, and its citizens are also citizens of Denmark.

Some GOP lawmakers say they view Trump’s statements about territorial expansion as a “negotiating” posture that could enhance future diplomacy.

But Denmark, Greenland and Panama don’t appear amused by the tactic.

The Danish government announced last month it would boost defense spending for Greenland by at least $1.5 billion in response to Trump’s comments.

Congress last month passed an annual defense bill authorizing $895 billion in military spending for 2025.

Democrats didn’t find Trump’s trial balloons funny at all. They argued the proposals could hurt U.S. alliances and undermine international stability.

“I find it hard to take his comments on threatening to try and reclaim the Panama Canal and to try and acquire Greenland seriously,” said Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“One of the things I had forgotten about the previous Trump administration was how frequently the president-elect had a tendency to throw out deadly serious things as just sort of casual tweets or talking points or balloons.

“It’s very clear from their responses that neither Panama nor Denmark and Greenland welcome those overtures and these are important allies. I think we should be working to find ways to partner with them, not to needlessly create division with them,” he said.

Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede wants his country to instead establish its independence from Denmark, and he pushed back on Trump’s statements, declaring that his homeland is not for sale.

“Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom,” he said.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, warned: “Foreign policy is not a real estate game.”

“It’s about effective use of American power, and it’s not an effective use of American power to be threatening these countries to effectively seize their territory,” he said.