Greenland Threat, Minnesota Siege: GovBrief #344

He got away with Venezuela. Now he’s coming for Greenland.

One week ago, Trump bombed Caracas and kidnapped a sitting president. Maduro and his wife are in a Brooklyn jail and not due back in court for two months. NATO, the UN, and Congress condemned the attack, but no one did anything.

Now Trump says he’ll take Greenland “whether they like it or not.” If Denmark won’t sell, “we will do it the hard way.” He said this on camera, wearing a lapel pin of his own smiling face.

Condemnation without consequence is permission. We learned that when Trump pardoned Adam Johnson, who mugged for cameras after stealing Nancy Pelosi’s lectern during the January 6 insurrection. Johnson announced this week he’s running for a county commission in Florida, using that photo as his campaign logo.

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🚨 GovBrief Intensity Score 260

Extreme. History will remember.

Volume: Extreme (27)

Severity: Moderate (2.41)

Defining Moments: 1

Previous 5 Days
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100 = normal day. Volume is headline count. Stories weighted by significance. Defining Moments are the ones history remembers.

Today's Quote

I’m not talking about money for Greenland yet. I might talk about that but right now we are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not because if we don’t do it Russia or China will take over Greenland and we are not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor. Okay?...I would like to make a deal the easy way, but if we don’t do it the easy way we will do it the hard way. And by the way, I’m a fan of Denmark. I have to tell you. They have been very nice to me. I’m a big fan. But, you know, the fact that they had a boat land there 500 years ago doesn’t mean that they own the land. Sure, we had a lot of boats go there also.

Donald Trump speaking at the White House on January 9, 2026.

Today’s GovBrief News

Extremism 1 of 27

Pardoned Jan. 6 rioter who told judge he was "ashamed" of stealing Pelosi's lectern now running for Florida county commission using photo of theft as campaign logo.

75 days served, $5,000 fine

Source: Mediaite

January 9, 2026

Foreign Relations 2 of 27

Trump tells oil executives they have "total safety" to invest $100 billion in Venezuela; ExxonMobil CEO responds country is currently "un-investable" after company's assets seized twice.

8-12 years to triple output

Source: The Associated Press

January 9, 2026

Foreign Relations 3 of 27

Trump threatens to take Greenland "the hard way" if Denmark won't sell, says US needs to "own" it to prevent Russia and China from taking it.

US already houses base there

Source: BBC

January 9, 2026

War 4 of 27

US forces seize fifth tanker in a month off Venezuela, bringing total captured oil to 6.15 million barrels worth over $300 million.

16 tankers escaped blockade Jan 3

Source: Maritime Executive

January 9, 2026

Health 5 of 27

Missouri waiting on $25.7 million in federal child care payments as advocacy group reports no state has received funding approval this week; daycares can't make payroll.

90% of program is federal funds

Source: The Missouri Independent

January 9, 2026

Health 6 of 27

South Carolina measles outbreak becomes nation's largest with 310 cases, 256 unvaccinated; state epidemiologist warns "this could go on for many, many more weeks."

281 children infected, 24 under 5

Source: The Charleston Post & Courier

January 9, 2026

Health 7 of 27

USDA freezes food program funding to Minnesota until state justifies a year of spending, citing fraud that already convicted 78 people.

Feeding Our Future cited as basis

Source: KARE Minneapolis

January 9, 2026

Human Rights 8 of 27

New Hampshire Senate passes bill criminalizing driving a minor to an abortion without parental consent; first offense is misdemeanor, third is felony.

Second bill protects providers who refuse

Source: The New Hampshire Bulletin

January 9, 2026

Science 9 of 27

NASA orders first medical evacuation from the International Space Station in 25 years, cutting Crew-11 mission short after undisclosed medical emergency.

Models predicted evacuation every 3 years

Source: Ars Technica

January 9, 2026

Voting Rights 10 of 27

Federal judge permanently blocks Trump executive order requiring proof of citizenship and Election Day ballot receipt, ruling president lacks authority over elections.

133,500 ballots would've been rejected in 2024

Source: The Oregon Capital Chronicle

January 9, 2026

Economy 11 of 27

Maryland audit finds state cannot recover $760 million in unemployment overpayments, yet continues sending collection letters to people who never received benefits.

$807M overpaid 2020-2025

Source: WBAL Baltimore

January 9, 2026

Economy 12 of 27

Trump posted jobs data 12 hours early on social media, repeating first-term violation of federal policy; White House admits "inadvertent public disclosure."

OMB bars comment until 30 minutes after release

Source: CNBC

January 9, 2026

Justice Dept 13 of 27

Patel names career counterterrorism agent Christopher Raia as co-deputy FBI director after Bongino resigned over clashes about Epstein investigation handling.

FBI now has two co-deputy directors

Source: Bloomberg

January 9, 2026

Courts 14 of 27

Court forces Trump budget director to fund Consumer Financial Protection Bureau with $145 million after 11-month battle pushed agency toward insolvency.

Vought runs both OMB and CFPB

Source: Reuters

January 9, 2026

Criminal Justice 15 of 27

After FBI revokes Minnesota's access to ICE shooting evidence, state asks public to submit videos; prosecutor says officer "does not have complete immunity."

State has charging jurisdiction

Source: The Hill

January 9, 2026

Immigration 16 of 27

Federal judge signals temporary block on Trump plan to end family reunification parole for 10,000 immigrants, five days before termination deadline.

7 countries, programs date to 2007

Source: Newsweek

January 9, 2026

Immigration 17 of 27

Trump administration announces it's reviewing thousands of Minnesota refugee cases, calling state "ground zero for the war on fraud" two days after ICE killed Minneapolis woman.

Refugees already most vetted immigrant category

Source: The Hill

January 9, 2026

Education 18 of 27

Minneapolis Public Schools offers optional remote learning through Feb. 12 after ICE killed mother, chased suspect onto high school property.

100 schools, 30,000 students eligible

Source: KSTP St. Paul MN

January 9, 2026

Education 19 of 27

Texts reveal UVA board members coordinated with Youngkin to end transgender care, dissolve DEI office; one wrote "This is war!" about professor defending diversity programs.

947 pages of texts June 2023 to Dec 2025

Source: The Washington Post

January 9, 2026

Education 20 of 27

Trump calls for 10% cap on credit card interest rates starting Jan. 20, one year after inauguration; banks warn 14 million households could lose access to credit.

Current average exceeds 20%

Source: CBS News

January 9, 2026

Congress 21 of 27

Jim Jordan commits to public hearing for Jack Smith after 8-hour closed-door session failed to produce damaging testimony; Smith's lawyers had requested open forum for months.

Private transcript release New Year's Eve

Source: Politico

January 9, 2026

Data 22 of 27

EEOC data breach exposed personal information of people who filed discrimination complaints; contractor employees with privileged access mishandled data for nearly a year before discovery.

Under prosecution in Virginia federal court

Source: NextGov

January 9, 2026

Propaganda 23 of 27

DHS and Vance amplify video purportedly from ICE agent who killed Minneapolis woman, but when asked to verify authenticity, agency responds only with link to its own retweet.

Same agent dragged by car in June

Source: KMSP

January 9, 2026

Propaganda 24 of 27

Trump debuts "Happy Trump" lapel pin during White House meeting on Venezuela oil, Ukraine war, and taking Greenland "whether they like it or not."

Worn alongside American flag pin

Source: USA Today

January 9, 2026

Arts 25 of 27

Washington National Opera announces departure from Kennedy Center after 54 years, citing declining attendance and donations following Trump's takeover and renaming.

Performed there since center opened 1971

Source: Deadline

January 9, 2026

Grift 26 of 27

FCC approves 7,500 more Starlink satellites for SpaceX weeks after Chairman Carr pressured competitor into selling spectrum licenses to Musk's company.

15,000 Gen2 satellites now authorized

Source: Ars Technica

January 9, 2026

Fighting Back 27 of 27

Judge blocks Trump's $10 billion child care funding freeze in five Democratic states, ordered after viral video targeting Minnesota's Somali community was found largely untrue.

TANF $7B, child care $2.4B, block grants $870M

Source: Courthouse News Service

January 9, 2026