U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, next to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaks to the media on the day of a briefing for the House of Representatives on the situation in Venezuela, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., Jan. 7, 2026
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that he will meet with officials from Denmark next week about Greenland.
Rubio’s comments on Capitol Hill came as the Trump administration has amped up its rhetoric about taking over Greenland, which is a self-governing territory of Denmark.
He was asked why the administration had not accepted Denmark’s request for a discussion about the island.
“I’ll be meeting with them next week,” Rubio replied.
Rubio was asked by a reporter if he would withdraw the option of using the U.S. military to take over Greenland.
“I’m not here to talk about Denmark or military intervention,” Rubio said, before reiterating his plans to meet with Danish officials next week.
“We’ll have conversations with them then, but I’m not adding things further … to that today.”
On Tuesday evening, Danish Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said Denmark would spend 88 billion Danish kroner ($13.8 billion) on rearming Greenland given “the serious security situation we find ourselves in.”
“I hope that the United States also recognizes that fact and is ready to cooperate on our common interest in Arctic security,” Poulsen said in a statement.
“Because Denmark would like to continue to be an ally of the United States,” he said. “But that requires a mutual willingness to show respect and cooperation.”
Poulsen’s comments came hours after the White House told CNBC that President Donald Trump and his advisors were considering “a range of options” to acquire Greenland, which potentially included a military option.
“President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNBC in an email Tuesday.
“The President and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal,” Leavitt said.
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