U.S. Congress bill aims to prevent funding of invasion of Canada

Rhode Island General Treasurer Seth Magaziner is photographed in his office in Providence, R.I., Feb. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File) (David Goldman/AP)

A new bill introduced to the United States House of Representatives would withhold federal funding for any American “operations to invade or seize territory from” Canada, Panama or Greenland -- unless Congress agrees to it first, that is.

Introduced Thursday by Rhode Island Rep. Seth Magaziner, the No Invading Allies Act would require U.S. President Donald Trump to seek a formal declaration of war, congressional approval or proof of a “national emergency created by attack or imminent threat of attack” to authorize offensive military action against the places mentioned above.

“Congress has allowed Presidents to engage in temporary hostilities for up to 60 days without Congressional approval,” reads a Thursday release from Magaziner’s office. “However, President Trump’s reckless rhetoric on territorial expansion makes clear that he cannot be trusted with unchecked war powers.”

51st state?

Talk of annexation has been one of the hallmarks of Trump’s second term.

The president has prodded Canada to become the 51st U.S. state for months, to widespread revulsion on this side of the border. Purchasing the self-governing territory of Greenland from Denmark has been a common refrain as far back as his first term in office, and allusions to seizing the Panama Canal have prompted Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino to reject the idea as an an affront to his nation’s dignity.

Earlier this year, Trump refused to rule out military force as a means of seizing Greenland and the canal, while his vision for a Canadian annexation has been limited to what he has called “economic force.”

The United States has since launched a trade war with Canada, an attack Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cast as serving Trump’s goal to “see a total collapse of the Canadian economy, because that’ll make it easier to annex us.”

Magaziner’s bill is designed to prevent presidents of any party from unilaterally dragging the country into conflicts, the Democratic representative’s release reads.

“President Trump should not be allowed to put American servicemembers into harm’s way by starting unnecessary wars with our allies,” he said.

Could the bill become law?

Co-sponsored by eight other congressional Democrats, the bill has been referred to House committees on foreign affairs and America’s armed services. In order to become law, it must first pass votes in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, before receiving the president’s own signature.

CTV News political analyst Eric Ham notes that in the “politically charged environment” of the present moment, legislation can often be introduced “not necessarily to make new law but to make a political statement.”

“Democrats don’t have the votes to pass this bill,” he told CTVNews.ca. “It’s more stunt than lawmaking.”

You can read the full text of the proposed legislation here.

With files from CTV News' Spencer Van Dyk and The Associated Press