Speaker Johnson to address UK parliament as Europe spirals over Trump's campaign for Greenland
US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson will visit London later this month to address the UK Parliament, per a statement issued Wednesday.
By VICTORIA CHURCHILL, US POLITICAL REPORTER
Published: 17:10 GMT, 7 January 2026 | Updated: 18:10 GMT, 7 January 2026
House Speaker Mike Johnson will visit London later this month to address the UK Parliament.
Johnson's speech, planned for Jan. 20, is expected to focus on relations between the US and UK as America celebrates the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding.
The announcement of Johnson's visit comes one day after he split with the majority of his Capitol Hill colleagues in seemingly backing the administration's rhetoric on Greenland, which has roiled European leaders, including Starmer, with his brazen gambit to acquire the island, an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark.
The US also seized the Russian-flagged oil tanker Bella 1 in the North Atlantic, between Iceland and Scotland, on Wednesday, another move just off the coast of UK territory.
Johnson noted Tuesday that 'Greenland is viewed by a lot of people as something that would be a strategic positioning for the US.'
On Wednesday, however, Johnson said that America is 'not at war with Greenland.'
'All this talk about military action—I don't think anybody is considering that,' Johnson also told reporters at his weekly press conference.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that 'acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States,' adding that 'utilizing the U.S. military is always an option at the commander-in-chief's disposal.'
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks to the press following a briefing by members of the Trump administration on U.S. operations in Venezuela, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on January 5, 2025
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the UK House of Commons said he was 'honoured in this 250th anniversary year of American Independence to welcome Speaker Johnson to Parliament.'
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged President Donald Trump to stop threatening to seize Greenland on Tuesday, throwing his support behind NATO member Denmark after it rebuked the US President's persistent demands to take the Arctic territory.
'Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland,' read a joint statement issued by Starmer and fellow European leaders, President Macron of France, Chancellor Merz of Germany, Prime Minister Meloni of Italy, Prime Minister Tusk of Poland, Prime Minister Sánchez of Spain, and Prime Minister Frederiksen of Denmark on Greenland.
Announcing his upcoming UK visit, Johnson noted that 'as our nation commemorates the 250th anniversary of American Independence, I am honored and humbled by Speaker Hoyle's invitation to address Parliament.'