Despite the protestations of many Greenlanders, the pilot episode of “The Vances in Greenland” premieres today as Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance lead a U.S. delegation to the beleaguered Arctic island.
The visiting group, which includes Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Signalgate’s Mike Waltz, has already upset the locals who say the Americans were not invited and are “not welcome.”
Elsewhere in the world, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem will meet with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum following a controversial photoshoot at an El Salvador prison, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will remain far away from Signalgate, at least geographically, with a visit to the Philippines.
President Donald Trump is at the White House today before he flies home to Mar-a-Lago for the weekend.
Here’s the lunchtime lowdown, which U.S. News will be publishing each weekday to keep track of the goings-on in Washington and beyond:
Vance and the U.S. delegation are visiting an American military base in Greenland today as their first stop on a controversial trip to the semi-autonomous Danish territory, which Trump covets for the U.S. despite protestations from both Greenland and Denmark. Second lady Usha Vance originally planned to attend a dogsled race on the island, but the trip’s itinerary was scaled back amid blowback from locals. Read more.
Trump signed an executive order Thursday evening demanding “improper, divisive or anti-American ideology” be removed from the Smithsonian Institution and other historic sites which receive federal funding. The order specifically calls out the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum as examples of “ideological indoctrination.” Read more.
Elon Musk announced Friday morning he will speak to voters in Wisconsin’s state Supreme Court election on Sunday, where he promised to “personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each.” Musk has already spent millions on the race, which could determine the makeup of the high court in a crucial swing state. Read more.
Russian President Vladimir Putin floated putting an interim government in Ukraine under the United Nations umbrella as a way to reach a settlement in the ongoing war. Meanwhile the Trump administration sent a new proposal in its negotiations over Ukraine’s minerals which “restates the sweeping financial demands” that led to a public spat between Trump, Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House last month. Read more.
Trump announced that Stefanik will remain in the House instead of serving as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Stefanik is one of several House Republicans Trump plucked for administration positions, endangering Republicans’ razor-thin majority in the chamber. Special elections for House seats vacated by two other Trump picks – one-time attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz and embattled national security adviser Mike Waltz – are set for Tuesday. Read more.
