Hegseth indicates Pentagon has plans to take Greenland, Panama by force

Published June 12, 2025 2:21pm ET



Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth didn’t rule out using military force to take Greenland and Panama, implying to lawmakers on Thursday that the Defense Department has plans prepared if such an order is given.

“Our job at the [Department of Defense] is to have plans, and we have a lot of them,” Hegseth told lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee when pressed by the committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA).

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