'Y'all belong in Louisiana': The strange case of Trump's missing Greenland envoy
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has played a low-key-to-vanishing role over Greenland since his appointment as Trump's special envoy to the Arctic island.
Somewhere deep in the Louisiana Bayou, amid the cypress trees draped in Spanish moss and a dizzying blend of French, Spanish, African and Native American cultures, President Donald Trump's special envoy to Greenland is working the Arctic beat.
At least he's supposed to be.
Since his appointment to the role in December, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has appeared to take an especially light-touch approach to making good on his mission: helping Trump gain control of Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark.
Other Trump envoy appointees never seem far from the spotlight.
US official: Greenland action could come within 'weeks or months'While the scope of Landry's voluntary role as Greenland envoy remains unclear, he did not attend a Jan. 14 Greenland-related meeting behind closed doors at the White House that included senior Danish officials, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The meeting marked what appears to be the beginning of more formal negotiations over Greenland, which Denmark says is not for sale, and Trump has vowed to gain control of, by force if necessary.
Landry has said in radio and TV interviews that he is not interested in holding meetings with diplomats and prefers to directly engage with "everyday" Greenlanders.
It's not clear to what extent he's done that.
Usha Vance's Greenland adventure: Why it got derailed by a dogsled race across ice and snowIn fact, the organizers of the Arctic territory’s most prestigious dog sled race, which takes place in late March, said in a Facebook post on Jan. 13 that they had revoked an invitation for Landry to attend the upcoming "Avannaata Qimussersua" and launched an investigation into how he got invited.
The Greenland Dog Sledding Association said the invitation amounted to "unacceptable political pressure" and was "wholly inappropriate." In an interview with Fox News, Landry said he received the invite from "a Greenlander."
Vance’s wife Usha was supposed to attend the same dog sled race last year during the second couple's tour of the island but canceled her participation at the last minute after protests in the self-ruling Danish territory. The Vances ended up visiting a U.S. military based in Greenland's far north instead.
Where's Gov. Landry, Trump's Greenland envoy?
A Danish official said they have yet to hear from Landry since he took up the role.
The governor's social media account has published just three posts mentioning Greenland since Dec. 21, 2025, when he was appointed envoy.
One of those posts thanked Trump for the "honor" of allowing him to serve in the role and said it would not in any way impact his job as governor. The other two mentioned how Landry hoped to use "hospitality" and "culinary diplomacy" to help acquire the world's largest island.
Greenland dispute: Vance, Rubio meet with DenmarkWhat Landry meant by that was also not immediately clear, but in his Fox News interview the governor said he has exchanged emails with Greenlanders who had reached out to him.
"They tell me they like to hunt, they like to fish, they like to have a good time. I'm like, y'all belong in Louisiana. I'm gonna call it culinary diplomacy," Landry said in the interview.
Still, the governor was scheduled to travel to Washington on Jan. 15 and 16 for meetings, according to his spokesperson, Kate Kelly.
And before leaving Baton Rouge, Landry said in a news conference that "some of the meetings we're having will be how to bring culinary diplomacy to Greenland and great opportunities for Louisianans in Greenland and Greenlanders as well."
One U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that Trump has tasked Vance, who visited Greenland last year, and Rubio to co-lead on the Greenland issue.
The White House has not explained what appeared to be Landry's conspicuous absence from the Jan. 14 meeting in Washington with Vance, Rubio, and the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland.
In response to a question from USA TODAY, the White House noted that Vance and Rubio were present and the countries agreed to establish a working group to continue discussions. But it was unclear if Landry would be part of those conversations, and the president's spokeswoman did not provide further details on the nature of his role.
Landry is a Trump loyalist and hard-line conservative on issues such as crime, the environment and LGBTQ rights. He is also an experienced litigator and former police officer who has been Louisiana's governor since 2023. But he has virtually no foreign affairs experience.
Maps don’t show Greenland’s true size: Here’s how big it actually is.Last May, Rep. Gregory W. Meeks, a Democrat who is the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sent a letter to Rubio expressing concern about "the lack of clarity" over the official status and duties of the various special appointees serving in the Trump administration.
Meeks said the committee was aware of at least six such special appointees with various focuses from "special missions" (Richard Grenell) to hostage response (Adam Boehler).
Landry appears to be the seventh.
He has not yet emerged to be a go-to diplomatic fix-it man for Trump like Steve Witkoff. Witkoff, a real estate billionaire who also previously had no diplomatic experience, is Trump's special envoy for the Middle East. He's been active trying to solve the Israel-Hamas war and American animosity with Iran. He's also expanded his portfolio to the Russia-Ukraine war and appears to be consulted by Trump on a range of thorny issues from immigration to tariffs.
Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East negotiator in Democratic and Republican administrations, labeled Witkoff the "Envoy for Everything."
Contributing: Francesca Chambers
This story has been updated with new information.