{"id":129156,"date":"2026-01-20T08:09:39","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T13:09:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.justsecurity.org\/?p=129156"},"modified":"2026-01-20T09:37:40","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T14:37:40","slug":"early-edition-january-20-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.justsecurity.org\/129156\/early-edition-january-20-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Early Edition: January 20, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A curated guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here\u2019s today\u2019s news:<\/p>\n

GREENLAND<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

In a late-night flurry of posts to his Truth Social account, President Donald Trump doubled down on his threats to take Greenland and said he would meet with European leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland to talk about the spiraling crisis. <\/b>He is expected to arrive at the Forum on Wednesday. In one of his posts<\/a>, he said he\u2019d told NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, \u201cGreenland is imperative for National and World security. There can be no going back.\u201d Trump also posted<\/a> at 12:58 a.m. an AI-generated image of himself in the Oval Office with European leaders and displaying a map where the United States, Canada, and Greenland are covered in the American flag. The Financial Times reports<\/a>; Michel Rose and Stine Jacobsen report for Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

During his social media spree, Trump also posted screenshots of private messages he\u2019d received from world leaders over Greenland,<\/b> including one from French President Emmanuel Macron that read, \u201cI do not understand what you are doing on Greenland.\u201d CNN reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Trump also criticized the United Kingdom\u2019s decision to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, <\/b>a deal his administration previously supported, calling it an act of \u201cgreat stupidity.\u201d He said it was another reason the United States needed to acquire Greenland. Haley Ott for ABC News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Over the weekend, Trump continued to push for American control of Greenland, risking damaging relations with Europe beyond the point of repair.<\/b> Following Trump\u2019s threats of economic coercion and military invasion of a NATO ally, \u201cVeteran observers of European politics said the alliance between Europe and the United States that formed in the aftermath of World War II had already been fundamentally altered,\u201d Michael D. Shear reports for the New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Trump <\/b>posted<\/b><\/a> on Truth Social that if the United States did not get a deal to buy Greenland, he would first impose a 10 percent tariff \u201con any and all goods sent to the United States of America,\u201d from a certain group of European countries in February. He threatened to raise the rate to 25 percent in June. <\/b>The threats upended months of trade negotiations between the United States and Europe. Adam Gabbatt, Robert Mackey, and Callum Jones for The Guardian<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In response, European capitals are considering hitting the United States with \u20ac93 billion in tariffs.<\/b> \u201cThe retaliation measures are being drawn up to give European leaders leverage in pivotal meetings with the US president at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, officials involved in the preparations said.\u201d Henry Foy and Mercedes Ruehl report for the Financial Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a<\/b> text message<\/b><\/a> to Norway’s prime minister Trump said that because he was not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, he no longer felt “an obligation to think purely of Peace,” and therefore was pursuing the \u201cComplete and Total Control of Greenland\u201d in the interests of the United States. <\/b>The text was forwarded by the White House to multiple European ambassadors in Washington. Geir Moulson and Jill Lawless report for the Associated Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Following a weekend of escalating U.S. threats, Denmark deployed additional troops to Greenland on Monday. <\/b>Richard Milne, Henry Foy, Barbara Moens, and George Parker report for the Financial Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Over the weekend, thousands of people marched in Copenhagen to protest Trump\u2019s escalating threats.<\/b> \u201cThe crowd, waving Greenlandic flags, chanted \u2018Greenland is not for sale.\u2019 Many demonstrators wore red hats in Trump’s own \u2018Make America great again\u2019 fashion that read, \u2018Make America go away.\u2019\u201d Barbara Sprunt for NPR<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A small European troop deployment to Greenland last week for an Arctic security exercise was viewed by some European officials as having been misread in Washington and as helping spur Trump\u2019s retaliatory rhetoric and tariff threats, <\/b>the Financial Times<\/a> reported, citing officials and diplomats. The move was framed as a show of solidarity with Denmark and an \u201cArctic security\u201d signal, but some diplomats said the messaging was too subtle or too easily misconstrued, while others doubted any reframing would have changed Trump\u2019s response. Charles Clover, Richard Milne, and Amy Kazmin report.<\/p>\n

TRUMP\u2019S \u201cBOARD OF PEACE\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

When it brokered a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, the Trump administration announced that a \u201cBoard of Peace\u201d would oversee the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip, but it became clear over the weekend that Trump intends it to have a more ambitious mandate, \u201c<\/b>potentially rivaling the United Nations in what would be a major upheaval to the post-World War II international order,\u201d reports Matthew Lee for the Associated Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Times of Israel published the <\/b>full text<\/b><\/a> of\u00a0 the board\u2019s charter, <\/b>which it says \u201cwas attached to the invitations sent out to dozens of world leaders who were asked to join Trump on the panel tasked with overseeing the postwar management of Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump has named himself chair of the international organization and given himself veto power. He has invited world leaders to join the board, telling them if they pay $1 billion, they can secure a permanent seat<\/b> while those countries that do not pay will have a three-year membership. \u201cOn Friday, Trump announced seven members on a founding executive board, including his son-in-law Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and former British prime minister Tony Blair. Three others include World Bank President Ajay Banga, deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel and billionaire private equity chief Marc Rowan.\u201d Lauren Kaori Gurley and Michael Birnbaum report for the Washington Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

France rejected Trump\u2019s offer to join the \u201cBoard of Peace\u201d and Trump responded on Monday by threatening <\/b>a 200 percent tariff on French wine<\/b><\/a>. <\/b>The statement from the office of French President Emmanuel Macron said the board\u2019s charter \u201cgoes beyond the framework of Gaza and raises serious questions, in particular with respect to the principles and structure of the United Nations, which cannot be called into question.\u201d Clea Caulcutt for POLITICO<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Trump invited Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping to join the Board of Peace.<\/b> \u201cLater on Monday, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said President Alexander Lukashenko also received an invitation to join the board.\u201d Ivana Kottasov\u00e1 and Anna Chernova for CNN<\/a>; Bloomberg reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Israel has also been invited, two sources briefed on the matter told Reuters, though it was not immediately clear whether Israel has accepted. <\/b>Reuters reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Trump wants to hold a signing ceremony for the Board of Peace this week at Davos, <\/b>which, along with the crisis over Greenland, is \u201ctransforming this week\u2019s annual gathering of the global elite into an emergency diplomatic summit.\u201d Cat Zakrzewski and Emily Davies report for the Washington Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

MINNESOTA<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz mobilized the state\u2019s National Guard on Saturday to support local law enforcement and emergency agencies<\/b> as protests continue in Minneapolis over federal immigration enforcement, though troops have not been deployed to city streets and remain \u201cstaged and ready to respond.\u201d Guard units have been pictured preparing equipment and are expected to assist with public safety and protection of peaceful assembly should conditions deteriorate. Holly Yan, Hanna Park, Sydney Bishop, Zoe Sottile report for CNN<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Up to 1,500 active-duty U.S. soldiers, primarily from two infantry battalions of the Alaska-based 11th Airborne Division, have been placed on prepare-to-deploy orders for a possible mission to Minnesota,<\/b> the Pentagon confirmed to reporters, though no decision has been made on whether the troops will actually be sent. Konstantin Toropin reports for the Associated Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey over whether their public statements unlawfully impeded federal immigration enforcement, <\/b>with grand jury subpoenas issued as part of the probe but not yet received by either office, according to people familiar with the matter. Officials said the investigation is proceeding under a rarely used Civil War\u2013era obstruction statute, based on a theory that state and local leaders conspired to interfere with federal agents. NBC News<\/i> reported the statute was highlighted in a recent memo from Attorney General Pam Bondi that outlined legal tools prosecutors could use to pursue cases against individuals the administration has described as domestic extremists. Ryan J. Reilly and Peter Alexander report for NBC News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On Friday, a federal judge in Minneapolis ordered ICE agents and other immigration officials to stop using excessive force against protesters while conducting their operations in the city.<\/b> The judge\u2019s order included detailed accounts of how ICE agents are treating people in the city: \u201cA protester detained, her bra removed and wedding ring cut off, and some of her clothes never returned. The \u2018gratuitous deployment\u2019 of pepper spray. A couple\u2019s car surrounded by agents, who pointed semiautomatic weapons at them at close range.\u201d Stephanie Saul reports for the New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On Monday, the Trump administration said it was appealing the judge\u2019s preliminary injunction. <\/b>Mitch Smith for the New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Justice Department is also asking the court to allow its surge of ICE agents in Minnesota to continue after a lawsuit was filed last week by state and local officials claiming that the deployment was unconstitutional. <\/b>Minnesota had pushed for the federal judge to immediately block the deployment of 3,000 federal agents but she made no rulings last week. Mitch Smith reports for the New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Multiple attorneys say people being detained during ICE operations in Minnesota are being denied the constitutional right to see an attorney by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).<\/b> \u201cFour attorneys told ABC News<\/a> they have been denied access to their clients at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, where they are being held,\u201d Matt Rivers, Janice McDonald, and Armando Garcia report.<\/p>\n

The FBI determined shortly after Ren\u00e9e Good\u2019s killing that \u201csufficient grounds existed to open a civil rights probe<\/b> into the actions of Jonathan Ross, the officer who shot Good.\u201d The Justice Department says no such investigation exists. Perry Stein reports for the Washington Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Protesters interrupted a church service in St. Paul, MN, on Sunday. <\/b>Protesters chanted outside a church where one of its pastors appears to also be the acting director of ICE\u2019s field office for enforcement and removal operations in St. Paul, Lauren McCarthy, Maia Coleman, and Emily Cochrane report for the New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Justice Department\u2019s Civil Rights Division will investigate Sunday\u2019s church protest, officials said. <\/b>Assistant U.S. Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon cited violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. Andy Rose and Elise Hammond report for CNN<\/a>.<\/p>\n

IRAN<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s judiciary signaled Sunday that some people involved in the recent unrest could still face execution, despite Trump\u2019s suggestion otherwise. <\/b>Judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir said certain protest-linked conduct is being treated as \u201cmoharebeh,\u201d or \u201cwaging war against God,\u201d an offense that can carry the death penalty, and warned the cases would be \u201cquickly prosecuted and punished.\u201d He also said anyone who \u201ccollaborates with the enemy\u201d during unrest would be punished under \u201cclear\u201d legal provisions. Billy Stockwell reports for CNN<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Iranian protester Erfan Soltani remains alive<\/b> and in good physical health after fears he would be executed on Wednesday, a relative and a human rights group said. CNN<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A senior Iranian official confirmed the death toll from last week\u2019s protests has topped 5,000, <\/b>including about 500 members of the security forces, with some of the deadliest unrest in Iran\u2019s Kurdish northwest. Reuters reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

SYRIA<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

After several days of clashes, Syria\u2019s government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reached a ceasefire agreement on Sunday, <\/b>with President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi agreeing that the SDF would pull back from key Arab-majority areas including Raqqa and Deir al-Zor. The deal also contemplates the SDF\u2019s integration into Syria\u2019s armed forces and the handover to Damascus of oil and gas sites, border crossings, and detention facilities holding Islamic State suspects. The Associated Press reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Turkish officials said Monday that the agreement\u2019s terms to cede territory to Damascus could clear Ankara\u2019s main impediment to restarting Turkey\u2019s stalled peace process with the PKK, the Kurdish separatist group.<\/b> Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

An unknown number of Islamic State (IS) detainees escaped from Shaddadi prison in Syria\u2019s Hasaka region amid renewed fighting around the detention facilities in the northeast and a security breakdown that left control of the site contested, <\/b>with Damascus and the SDF trading blame over how control was lost. The SDF said the prison\u2014one of three the SDF controls in the Hasakah region\u2014came under repeated assault by \u201cDamascus factions\u201d and that its forces repelled the attackers several times before temporarily losing control, adding that several of its fighters were killed and more than a dozen others wounded. Ghaith Alsayed for the Associated Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Syrian authorities said around 120 IS detainees escaped from Shaddadi prison,<\/b> adding that government forces moved into the area after the breakout and had recaptured 81 during sweep operations, with searches ongoing. Kurdish outlet Rudaw, citing an SDF spokesperson, put the number far higher\u2014around 1,500 escapees. Reuters.<\/a><\/p>\n

The SDF said it made repeated appeals to a nearby U.S.-led coalition base for assistance during the assault on Shaddadi prison<\/b> by \u201cDamascus factions,\u201d but that the coalition did not intervene. The SDF added that dozens of its fighters were killed or wounded while defending the facility. Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

U.S. Central Command said a U.S. strike in northwest Syria on Friday killed an Al Qaeda affiliate leader, Bilal Hasan al-Jasim, whom it described as \u201can experienced terrorist leader.\u201d <\/b>CENTCOM said al-Jasim helped plan attacks and was directly linked to the ISIS gunman who carried out the Dec. 13 ambush near Palmyra that killed two U.S. service members and an American interpreter and wounded other U.S. and Syrian personnel. \u200b\u200bMarlene Lenthang reports for NBC News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

TARIFFS AND OTHER U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

If the Supreme Court rejects the legal foundation for Trump\u2019s tariff program, the administration would move \u201cthe next day\u201d to reimpose similar levies under other authorities, <\/b>U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said. In a Jan. 15 interview, Greer said the White House has \u201ca lot of different options.\u201d Ana Swanson for the New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

U.S. consumers and importers paid about 96 per cent of the cost of last year\u2019s U.S. tariff increases,<\/b> with foreign exporters absorbing only about 4 per cent through lower prices, new research<\/a> from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy found\u2014cutting against Trump\u2019s repeated claim that foreigners are footing the bill. Using roughly $4 trillion in shipment data from between Jan. 2024 and Nov. 2025, the researchers also found that after surprise tariff hikes on Brazil and India in August 2025, exporters largely did not cut unit prices to offset the tariffs, instead shipping less to the United States, pointing to higher U.S. prices over time and reduced export volumes rather than \u201cforeign-paid\u201d tariffs. Tom Fairless reports for the Wall Street Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The National Guard will remain deployed in Washington, D.C., through 2026. <\/b>About 2,400 troops are currently stationed in the city and they are mostly from Republican-controlled states. Steven Beynon reports for ABC News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The three highest-ranking U.S. Catholic archbishops said Monday that recent U.S. actions on Venezuela, Ukraine, and Greenland raise \u201cbasic questions about the use of military force\u201d and have put America\u2019s moral role \u201cunder examination.\u201d<\/b> Michelle Boorstein and Anthony Faiola report for the Washington Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Chief Immigration Judge Teresa Riley emailed immigration judges instructing them that they are not bound by federal court rulings requiring bond-hearing eligibility for many detainees, <\/b>according to documents the ACLU of Massachusetts filed<\/a> with a Boston federal court Friday. The ACLU said the directive shows a deliberate effort to disregard those rulings, with a hearing scheduled for today. Reuters<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

A D.C. federal judge declined to pause the administration\u2019s new seven-day notice requirement for congressional visits to ICE detention facilities, <\/b>explaining in a Monday order<\/a> that the policy constitutes a new agency action not covered by her prior ruling and that the lawmakers raised the challenge through the wrong procedural mechanism.\u00a0 Michael Kunzelman reports for the Associated Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n

According to an international coalition of lawyers\u2019 groups, it is now dangerous to be a lawyer in the United States. <\/b>\u201cThe Day of the Endangered Lawyer, an annual event to raise awareness of risks to members of the profession, has in recent years picked Belarus, Iran and Afghanistan as its subject. For 2026, it has chosen the US.\u201d Kaye Wiggins for the Financial Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Did you miss this?<\/b>\u00a0Stay up-to-date with our\u00a0Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

If you enjoy listening, Just Security\u2019s analytic articles are also available in audio form on the justsecurity.org website.<\/p>\n

ICYMI: Yesterday on Just Security<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Let Not Arrogance Be Our Doom<\/a><\/p>\n

by Bishop Garrison<\/p>\n

The New Civil Rights \u201cBackstop\u201d: How DAs and AGs Can and Must Investigate ICE Abuses<\/a><\/p>\n

by Jonathan Wroblewski<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here. A curated guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here\u2019s today\u2019s news: GREENLAND In a late-night flurry of posts to his Truth Social account, President Donald Trump doubled down on his threats to take Greenland and said he would meet with European leaders 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