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netscape.com: https://isp.netscape.com:443/news/world/story/0001/20260522/f932b33dca26620cc16ae266951de7b4

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GDELT news · original
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Friday, May 22, 2026

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Cindy Hyde Smith, Katie Britt and Cynthia Lummis making up the Republican side, and Sens.

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An all-women Senate delegation is heading to the Arctic to reassure US allies - Netscape News Netscape Internet Service World News News Home U.S. World Entertainment Money Politics Sports Science Health Odd News An all-women Senate delegation is heading to the Arctic to reassure US allies By STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Seeking to reassure U.S. allies, a bipartisan group of senators is departing for a tour of Arctic nations. And this time they're leaving the men behind. From the eight senators to their staff and military liaison officers, the group will be entirely women as they pay diplomatic visits to government officials in four Arctic nations, witness the challenges for militaries in the region and visit a Norwegian archipelago so remote they will need escorts to avoid run-ins with polar bears. “I want them to experience, first of all, the awesomeness of the Arctic," said Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who is leading the trip alongside Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The trip was born out of both senator's work to stabilize relations with U.S. allies in North America and northern Europe at a time when President Donald Trump has taken an aggressive, go-it-alone stance in the region. Just this week, the Pentagon announced that the U.S. would pause participation on a joint board with Canada for continental defense that dates back to World War II. Murkowski and Shaheen said that is the wrong approach in an Arctic region that has increasing strategic value and unique challenges. “We will reassure our allies that we recognize and appreciate the importance of our allies and partners in the Arctic as in so many other areas,” Shaheen told The Associated Press, adding that she expected the group to discuss “what more we can do as members of Congress to support those relationships.” The group is split evenly between Democrats and Republicans, with Sens. Cindy Hyde Smith, Katie Britt and Cynthia Lummis making up the Republican side, and Sens. Maggie Hassan, Kirsten Gillibrand and Catherine Cortez Masto from the Democrats. Departing Friday, they will visit Arctic or sub-Arctic regions in Canada, Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark, Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago that is one of the northernmost inhabited areas on earth, and Iceland. Understanding the Arctic Murkowski and Shaheen said they want the group to come away with a deeper understanding and appreciation for Arctic communities that are experiencing the effects of climate change, as well as the unique challenges of conducting military operations in the region. “It’s to understand what it means to go into a remote, isolated community that has no access by road,” Murkowski said, adding that the group would see how military sites need airplane hangars because aircraft cannot be kept outside overnight in the Arctic cold. NATO has r

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