Senators Murkowski & Welch: Arctic Alliances at Risk

0:00U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski from Alaska and Peter Welch from Vermont dropped some real talk at forms in Anchorage and Fairbanks. Their warning that President Trump's push to grab control of Greenland is messing with Arctic alliances big time. Didn't Mark and Greenland keep saying no, even as Trump floats buying it or using force? This comes right after good news on two new Coast Guard icebreakers heading to Alaska. Earlier this week at the Arctic Encounters Summit, Murkowski celebrated the icebreakers, but said it ain't the win they hope for amid all this drama. She's led by partisan trips to Denmark and Greenland with folks like Senator Angus King. Problem is, the top U.S. Arctic diplomats by has been empty for over a year, leaving gaps in talks. Meanwhile, federal Arctic research is shifting hard toward military and business over science. Folks of North are feeling the heat. President's Prime Minister says people there don't feel safe with the rhetoric. NATO allies are second-guessing U.S. reliability, especially after tariff threats that Welch

1:02helped block. Even with clashes, like Welch pushing to protect Alaska's wildlife refuge from oil drilling while Murkowski backs it, they're teaming up for peace. New moves include Welch's resolution against those tariffs, and Murkowski locking in that ambassador role for good in defense bills. They hit another parliamentarian meet-up in Fairbanks, stressing broader security like food, education, and indigenous voices. Not chatting with Russia right now over Ukraine, but indigenous groups are keeping some lines open. Bottom line, these senators say Congress needs to step up aggressive on funding and diplomacy to fix the rifts and keep the Arctic about teamwork. Not. Takeovers. I'm Cory with the story. That's your Anchorage News today update. AI powered and always on.