US Senators move to block use of force against NATO allies over Greenland

16-Jan-2026

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In a bipartisan push aimed at reinforcing the foundations of the post–World War II security order, senior US lawmakers on Jan 13 introduced legislation to prohibit the use of American military or diplomatic funds to seize, occupy or otherwise assert control over the territory of a NATO ally without its consent.

The NATO Unity Protection Act, introduced by Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D–New Hampshire), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Lisa Murkowski (R–Alaska), seeks to draw a hard legal line against any US action that would violate the sovereignty of a fellow NATO member.

The bill comes amid growing unease in Congress following recent statements by the Trump administration suggesting the United States could pursue control over Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, a founding member of NATO. Lawmakers say such rhetoric risks undermining the credibility of the alliance at a moment of heightened global instability.