US House speaker says he doesn't expect 'any boots on the ground' in Greenland

The US House speaker said Tuesday that he does not anticipate any US military deployment related to Greenland, pushing back against speculation of a possible military takeover.

"We've been very clear … There's no declaration of war pending for Greenland. It's just not a thing. I don't anticipate any boots on the ground anywhere, anytime soon," Mike Johnson told a news conference on Capitol Hill.

Asked whether President Donald Trump should explicitly rule out the idea of a military takeover of Greenland-something he has declined to do-Johnson said: "I don't think anybody is considering that."

He added: "I mean, it's not been in any briefing I've been in, and I go to all of them ... I think this is a media narrative that's been created."

Johnson acknowledged that Greenland remains an area of growing interest for the US, particularly in terms of national security and access to critical minerals.

Stressing that it is a "serious area" of the globe in terms of US competition with China and Russia, he said Greenland has "strategic importance. It's geography and everything else. So look, again, you have to wait for that to play out. I'm going to leave it to the administration to articulate it how they will."

Trump on Sunday argued that acquiring Greenland is necessary for the US to prevent Russia or China from gaining control of the strategic Arctic territory, which belongs to Denmark.

Both Denmark and Greenland have rejected any proposal to sell the territory, reaffirming Danish sovereignty over the island.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to meet Danish and Greenland officials this week, according to media reports.