'Flummoxed' Senate Republicans plot rare rebuke of Trump’s foreign policy fixation

Donald Trump does not appear to be backing down from his obsession with acquiring Greenland for the U.S., but according to a Thursday morning report from The Hill, his plans could be derailed by a major rebuke by Senate Republicans.

Republican lawmakers in the Senate are said to be "flummoxed" by Trump's persistent threats about annexing Greenland, The Hill reported, particularly his insistence that military force is on the table to accomplish the goal. Numerous European leaders and American officials have warned that attacking Greenland, an autonomous territory of U.S. ally Denmark, could effectively mark the end of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), or at least seriously imperil the alliance at a time when it is also staring down aggression from Moscow.

Two GOP Senators, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, said on Tuesday that they will be traveling to Denmark's capital, Copenhagen, on Friday to assure Danish leaders that the Senate will be able to halt any military action against Greenland. Speaking with The Hill, Tillis said he believes there are enough Republican votes in the Senate to block Trump from using the military in this endeavor.

“I’m going to remind them that we have co-equal branches of government and I believe that there [is a] sufficient number of members, whether they speak up or not, that are concerned with this,” Tillis said. “The actual execution of anything that would involve a taking of a sovereign territory that is part of a sovereign nation, I think would be met with pretty substantial opposition in Congress. Right now people are trying to be deferential, but this is just an example of whoever keeps on telling the president that this idea is achievable should not be in Washington, D.C."

Murkowski has co-sponsored a bill that would bar the use of Pentagon money for military action against Greenland, including to "blockade, occupy, annex or conduct military operations" on the island territory. The other sponsor on the bill is Democratic Sen. Jean Sheehan of New Hampshire, who will be among the several Democrats joining Tillis and Murkowski in visiting Denmark. The others include Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, Rep. Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania and Rep. Sarah Jacobs of California.

Another GOP Senator, speaking anonymously, concurred with Tillis's statement, adding that Trump's aggression towards Greenland has generated more Republican opposition in the chamber than many of his other controversies, due to the harm it would cause America's standing in NATO and the subsequent risks posed to Ukraine.

“You see more than in other incidents pushback by Republican senators on this topic,” the Republican said. “I have no understanding how this is an idea to begin with. We absolutely need NATO support Ukraine. Diminishing the capabilities of NATO to do that is a death knell to people in Ukraine."