U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, alongside U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, speaks to the media on the day of a briefing for the House of Representatives on the situation in Venezuela, at the Capitol in Washington, DC, U.S., January 7, 2026.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that he would meet with officials from Denmark next week or so Greenland.
Rubio’s comments on Capitol Hill come as the Trump administration has ramped up its rhetoric on take control of Greenlandwhich is an autonomous territory of Denmark.
He was asked why the administration did not agree to Denmark’s request to discuss the island.
“I’ll meet with them next week,” Rubio responded.
A reporter asked Rubio if he would withdraw the option of using the U.S. military to take control of Greenland.
Read more CNBC coverage on Greenland“I’m not here to talk about Denmark or military intervention,” Rubio said, before reiterating his intention to meet with Danish officials next week.
“We will have conversations with them at that time, but I won’t add anything to that today.”
On Tuesday evening, Danish Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said Denmark would spend 88 billion Danish crowns ($13.8 billion) to rearm Greenland given “the serious security situation we find ourselves in.”
“I hope that the United States also recognizes this fact and is willing to cooperate to advance our common Arctic security interest,” Poulsen said in a statement.
“Because Denmark wants to continue to be an ally of the United States,” he said. “But it requires a mutual willingness to show respect and cooperation.”
Poulsen’s comments came hours after the White House told CNBC that the president Donald Trump and his advisors considered “a range of options” for acquiring Greenland, which potentially included a military option.
“President Trump has made it clear that the acquisition of Greenland is a national security priority for the United States and is vital to deterring our adversaries in the Arctic region,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNBC on Tuesday.
“The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy objective and, of course, reliance on the United States military is always an option available to the commander in chief,” Leavitt said.
