The Trump administration’s use of thuggery in the pursuit of its domestic and international objectives has arguably reached its foreign apex, to date, in the repeated threats to acquire Greenland by the use of military force or, alternatively, coercive negotiations. As President Donald Trump stated on Jan. 9, “I would like to make a deal the easy way, but if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way.” After the audacious and tactically successful capture and rendition of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, no one doubts the seriousness of the threat or that it could happen quickly, perhaps within weeks or months. The Maduro capture gives credence to Trump’s own subsequent boast that when he is exercising his commander in chief authority, he is constrained by no law, but only by “his own morality” – whatever that might be. Indeed, Maduro’s capture constituted an act of military aggression and the initiation of an international armed conflict, all in violation of the U.N. Charter’s prohibition against the non-authorized use of force. It also runs against more than 80 years of U.S. post-war diplomacy designed primarily to create and reinforce a rules-based international order geared to the prevention of war. In ordering the capture, Trump also disregarded Congress’s constitutional authority to declare war and the related consultation requirements imposed by the War Powers Act. His statements regarding Greenland constitute clear signals of his determination to continue with his scofflaw behavior. Unfortunately for Trump’s imperial ambitions – but fortunately for the rule of law, the U.S. national interest, and international stability – Trump’s ability to execute any act of military aggression against Greenland is constrained by an additional statute: 22 U.S.C. 1928f. This statute – which was not applicable to Venezuela because it is not a NATO member — was adopted by Congress pursuant to Section 1250A of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act and was designed to prohibit the president from materially altering the U.S. government’s relationship with NATO and the North Atlantic Treaty (the diplomatic instrument that gave rise to NATO) without prior congressional approval.
Preserving NATO; Prohibiting Military Action Against Greenland
