Bipartisan All-Female Senate Delegation Heads to Arctic to Strengthen Security Ties

The U.S. Senate is sending an historic all-female bipartisan delegation to the Arctic this week to address rising military tensions in the region. The group, led by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), will visit Canada, Greenland, Norway, and Iceland from January 16-20. Their mission focuses on assessing U.S. and allied Arctic security, infrastructure, and research capabilities amid increasing geopolitical competition from Russia and China.

This trip follows President Trump's controversial efforts to expand American influence in Greenland, including a proposal to purchase the Danish territory for strategic purposes. While Denmark firmly rejected this idea, the delegation aims to reaffirm U.S. commitments to regional stability through meetings with military personnel, Indigenous leaders, Arctic researchers, and European allies. The senators will also brief at Pituffik Space Base in Greenland on defense strategies.

The delegation includes Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) from the Democratic side, alongside Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming), Katie Britt (R-Alabama), and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Mississippi). Their visit underscores bipartisan efforts to strengthen U.S. presence in the Arctic, a region increasingly vital for global security and resource access.