[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 14 (Thursday, January 23, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H303-H304]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     OPPOSING EXPANSIONIST RHETORIC

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Wittman). The Chair recognizes the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Subcommittee on National 
Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs, I rise in strong opposition 
to the expansionist rhetoric that President Trump is directing toward 
America's strongest and longstanding allies and international partners.
  Four days into the new administration, it is clear that the Trump 
foreign policy doctrine is motivated by territorial expansion and 
revanchism, or

[[Page H304]]

the obsession to recover so-called lost land.
  This distorted worldview is anathema to America's historic role in 
defense of freedom across the globe. It also mirrors the imperial 
ambitions that have misled the likes of Russian President Vladimir 
Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping into exerting economic and 
military power to attack and threaten sovereign nations and the rights 
of self-governing people in Ukraine, the Republic of Georgia, and 
Taiwan.
  In his inaugural address, President Trump pronounced that the U.S. 
will ``expand our territory.'' He has specifically proposed that we 
make Greenland great again by annexing the island from Denmark, which 
is a NATO ally that he has threatened with tariffs unless it cedes to 
his demands. When asked if he would use military force to seize 
Greenland, President Trump refused to rule it out.

  The President has similarly suggested that the U.S. could annex 
Canada as the 51st State, vowing to wield economic retribution against 
a country that, after World War II, helped us establish the very rules-
based international order that he is now attempting to subvert.
  As a matter of fact, since the First World War, more than 2 million 
Canadian Armed Forces personnel have fought right alongside, shoulder 
to shoulder, U.S. troops in defense of freedom and security in Europe, 
the Pacific theater, Korea, Kosovo, Haiti, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and 
Afghanistan. Nearly 120,000 Canadian servicemembers have made the 
ultimate sacrifice in support of these U.S.-led operations. Just last 
year, Canada marked the 80th anniversary since over 14,000 of its 
Canadian soldiers stormed the beaches on D-day alongside American 
troops.
  President Trump has also declared that he is taking back the Panama 
Canal, which returned to Panamanian control under the treaties 
negotiated by the U.S. and Panama in 1977. When asked if he would rule 
out the use of force to regain its control, the President refused to do 
so. The Republic of Panama is a strategic U.S. partner whose 
cooperation to combat drug trafficking, illegal immigration, and 
maritime piracy is vital to our national security.
  Understandably, our allies and international partners have responded 
to these expansionist threats by reaffirming their right to self-
determination.
  The Prime Minister of Greenland stated: ``Our future and fight for 
independence is our business.'' The Foreign Minister of Denmark warned: 
``We can't have a world order where [big] countries . . . can just help 
themselves to what they want.''
  The Prime Minister of Canada declared: ``The 51st State, it is not 
going to happen.''
  The President of Panama just alerted the United Nations Security 
Council that President Trump may be violating the U.N. charter, which 
prohibits the use of threats and force against the territorial 
integrity or political independence of other states.
  Mr. Speaker, if President Trump continues to pursue expansionism at 
the expense of freedom and national security, America will join the 
ranks of gangster nations whose imperialist dictators violate 
international law just to expand their territorial power.
  As Russian President Putin tells it, Russia has no borders, and 
Ukraine is simply historically Russian land that has been stolen.
  President Xi has professed that Taiwan is China's ``sacred 
territory'' and that reunification is a ``historic inevitability.''
  An American President simply cannot be espousing similar views.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to 
firmly reject expansionist rhetoric and actions taken by President 
Trump.

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