President Donald Trump in December appointed Thomas Dans, a Texas venture capitalist and social media influencer with no formal science background, as chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. Dans, who also serves as the administration’s main voice on Arctic policy, has used the position to advocate for a U.S. takeover of Greenland and closer ties with Russia, according to a Defense One report published September 15, 2026.
Dans has repeatedly called for more U.S. icebreakers and has specifically championed Damen Shipyards, a Dutch company with which he had a business relationship. At an event in Anchorage, Alaska, in April, Dans called Damen “the largest builder of icebreakers and ice-class vessels in the world.” At the time, his consultancy, Almiranta Strategies, was working to help Damen secure a federal icebreaker contract.
Dans has also advocated for improved U.S.-Russia relations. “We want a peaceful Arctic, we want a peaceful world,” he said days after announcing plans to travel to Moscow. “Russia and the United States gotta get along for that to happen.”
His public statements go beyond the commission’s scientific mandate, according to Fran Ulmer, who served as commission chair for more than nine years before Trump replaced her in 2020. “And certainly outside the bounds of what the U.S. Arctic Research Commission has done in the past,” Ulmer said.
Dans’ position grants him access to government information from other federal agencies, an arrangement that could benefit his private interests. Commission members are not considered government employees and are not required to file an ethics form disclosing conflicts. A White House official told ProPublica that Dans’ consulting work did not constitute a conflict of interest for that reason.
“Tom Dans is doing a great job leading the Arctic Research Commission, and his shipbuilding expertise has helped him succeed in this role,” said White House spokesperson Anna Kelly. “The President appreciates all he is doing to advance American interests in the Arctic.”
Dans has long-standing ties to Russia, dating to seventh grade when he was recruited to learn Russian in a Maryland public school. He later worked in finance in Moscow in the mid-1990s and served on a secret National Security Council task force on U.S. control of Greenland during Trump’s first term. Trump first named Dans to the commission in late 2020, but the Biden administration fired him and three other appointees in 2021.
Dans declined multiple interview requests and did not respond to written questions from ProPublica. He told The New York Times this year that his post did not preclude him from working in private business.
Context
The Arctic region is warming at unprecedented rates, with Russia and China conducting joint military exercises in the far north and new shipping lanes opening. Dans is one of two commission members the law designates as representatives of “the interests of industry.”
Sources: Defense One