Department Press Briefing – May 08, 2025

2:20 p.m. EST

MS BRUCE: Good afternoon. We waited a little bit for the Pope. Thank you, sir. You all know Tommy, Tommy Pigott, my principal deputy. (Laughter.) Thank you again, everyone. Yes, we – obviously, some of the big news which we’ll be talking about here in our announcement momentarily. Thank you for being here.

So first – again, thank you all very much. First, I would like to share a message from Secretary Marco Rubio following the election of a new Pope and the first pope from the United States. Quote, “I extend my heartfelt congratulations to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV on his election as the 267th successor to Saint Peter. This is a moment of profound significance for the Catholic Church, offering renewed hope and continuity amid the 2025 Jubilee Year to over a billion faithful worldwide. The papacy carries a sacred and solemn responsibility. Jeanette and I are united in prayer for His Holiness, may the Holy Spirit impart wisdom, strength, and grace as he shepherds the Church. The United States looks forward to deepening our enduring relationship with the Holy See with the first American pontiff.” That is, again, from Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

This morning, Secretary Rubio spoke with Pakistani Prime Minister Sharif and Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar. In both calls, the Secretary emphasized the need for immediate de-escalation and called for an end to the violence. He expressed U.S. support for direct dialogue between India and Pakistan and encouraged continued efforts to improve communications.

Today also marks the 80th anniversary of Victory Day for World War II. As President Trump said in his proclamation marking the day, quote, “we celebrate the unmatched might, strength, and power of the American Armed Forces, and we commit to protecting our sacred birthright of liberty against all threats… we offer our unending thanks to every patriot from the Greatest Generation who left behind his home and family to fight for our freedom in distant lands.”

On this 80th anniversary, President Trump and Prime Minister Starmer announced a historic trade deal between the United States and the United Kingdom. This trade deal provides American companies unprecedented access to the UK markets and delivers real benefits to American farmers while bolstering U.S. national security. The bottom line is this: This is a great deal for America.

As described by President Trump, quote, “The deal includes billions of dollars of increased market access for American exports, especially in agriculture, dramatically increasing access for American beef, ethanol, and virtually all of the products produced by our great farmers.” As President Trump also said today, today’s deal shows you – shows that if you respect America and bring serious proposals to the table, America is open to business and that there are many more deals to come.

Also today, the Ukrainian Rada, their parliament, unanimously voted to ratify the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund that we signed last week, a deal shaped by President Trump’s unmatched ability to get results on the world stage, the best dealmaker in the world. This agreement got 338 votes, well over the 226 needed, demonstrating again that this agreement has been a fully collaborative partnership from start to finish. This is more than policy; it’s a partnership that strengthens America, secures long-term gains for both nations, and proves once again that under President Trump promises made are, in fact, promises kept. We are proud to see these results, and the world now sees what American leadership looks like.

Finally, I would like to take a moment to extend warm wishes for an early happy Mother’s Day to all those preparing to celebrate this weekend. It is a very special time to honor the love, resilience, and selfless dedication of mothers around the world. We join families everywhere in expressing our deep appreciation for moms and all that they and you do.

And with that, we will – we’ll take your questions. But before, I’m going to give my chiming phones to whomever wants to come right back up here, named – Tommy Pigott is the winner of the phones today.

QUESTION: Give them to us.

MS BRUCE: Thank you, sir. (Laughter.) All right. Taking your questions here. Yes, please.

QUESTION: Thanks, Tammy. On India and Pakistan, I saw the readouts of the Secretary’s calls, but can you give us any more details on any requests or commitments that the Secretary made of either the Pakistanis or the Indians moving forward? And there was also a note expressing condolences about civilians killed in his conversation with the Pakistanis. Should we take this to mean that the U.S. does not have fidelity on India’s claims that these were terrorist infrastructures that were struck?

MS BRUCE: Well, I think that having been listening to those calls, some of them, and being in the processes – all of us were in some fashion or another when this conflict began – it was the real focus of the Secretary of State, who has been the center point leading these conversations and these – this outreach. And he’s made very clear focusing on two things: that this should not escalate. This has been a key framework. Clearly this has been an issue for decades and it’s – with what we saw over the last few weeks after the terrorist attack, it was not surprising but very, very disappointing. But it was about, certainly, that it should not escalate. And communication was fundamentally key, that there should be talks, that there should not be silence, and that America obviously was in the center of this in speaking with a variety of leaders of both countries over the last two days.

QUESTION: So has he offered to play a mediation role between the two countries?

MS BRUCE: Well, as you know, I mean, there’s – this has been – every situation – in this particular case, of course, a very delicate and dangerous situation. But in any case, where there’s diplomatic conversations between leaders of countries or really any level where there’s negotiations happening, we are not going to be speaking about the details. That is certainly our policy. We think it’s important to not put details in the midst of the media, the worldwide media, when the work is being done privately between leaders, and we need to really try to keep it that way.

QUESTION: Sorry, and on the terrorist infrastructure, is there anything you can say? Does the U.S. have – have they been provided with any intelligence to back up India’s claims here?

MS BRUCE: Well, what I can say here – a few more things, certainly. We continue to urge India and Pakistan to work towards a responsible solution in this, and we’ve been saying that, certainly, from the beginning. We also want to say that what matters in this particular instance right now where we’re at is that the phone calls happened, that we are remaining engaged with both governments at, again, multiple levels. We, though, will not engage in the nature of discussing what the conversations have been or what we have conveyed. Certainly, there’s a lot already on the record when it comes to our reaction to what’s been happening here.

So there’s some discussion that Pakistan wants an independent investigation as to what has happened regarding the terrorist attack, and, of course, what we say to that is we want the perpetrators to be held accountable and are supportive of any efforts to that end.

All right. Shaun.

QUESTION: One more, please?

QUESTION: Could I (inaudible) just between Jenny’s question?

MS BRUCE: Yeah.

QUESTION: In the statement with – on the readout with the Pakistani prime minister, with Sharif, it says that the Secretary called for the end of any support to terrorist groups. I mean, is it the view of the United States, along with what India says, that Pakistan is supporting terrorist groups?

MS BRUCE: Well, obviously, in today’s world, that’s a call that we have been making for decades. It is the dynamic that we’ve seen in the Middle East, disrupting lives. And clearly what happened in Kashmir is awful, and we’ve all – of course, we send our condolences. The world has rejected the nature of that kind of violence overall, of course, and certainly the President has and continues to. But at this moment in time, there is like one thing that has to stop, which is a back-and-forth and a continuation of this, and that is what we’re focused on right now.

QUESTION: When you say a stop of the back-and-forth, an immediate de-escalation –

MS BRUCE: Yes.

QUESTION: – are you saying that India after taking action should stop? Is that basically what you’re saying? I mean (inaudible) –

MS BRUCE: Well, the message from the Secretary, and I think from the United States as a whole in general, is that the violence should stop, that military action, war – as we’ve seen in that region, certainly in the Middle East – has clearly for generation proven that it is not a solution because it never ends. There has to be a change in that regard. So obviously, when it comes to solving a problem, this administration has made itself clear, that war, the military, more violence is not a solution. Diplomacy is a solution, new ideas to stop generational violence and problems.

Andrea.

QUESTION: Can I go to the Middle East, then? Is that okay? Okay.

MS BRUCE: Certainly, yes.

QUESTION: Is there any discernible progress on a ceasefire in Gaza? Which would, frankly, conflict with the cabinet decision that Israel took Sunday night, calling up the recruits, but which there is – he’s been in intensive diplomacy, as we understand, including by Mr. Witkoff, his hostage release and ceasefire. And I do have a follow-up on that.

MS BRUCE: Sure. Well, we cannot speak to the ongoing negotiations, but I will note that recent statements by Qatar and Egypt that they are continuing to engage in pursuit of an agreement, and Ambassador Witkoff, of course, and his team are continuing as well. None of that has stopped. So there is action that goes on, but our focus, again, remains clear. I know it’s – and part of the issue of the transparency of this administration is that I think previously you wouldn’t necessarily know exactly what was happening and how it’s going on. Well, this is the nature of it, right?

These are individuals committed to it, and they continue to address it. And of course, worth repeating, Hamas bears sole responsibility for the war and for the resumption of hostilities and for the continuing difficulty in that realm. And we want peace. We want the ceasefire, we want peace, and we remain having to say we want a release of all the hostages.

QUESTION: And to that point, there is a lot of discussion about the Israeli plan for providing food through a hub that would be distributed by the military to avoid Hamas and other gangs.

MS BRUCE: Sure.

QUESTION: If there are non-Hamas gangs, I don’t know what they are, but gangs taking food.

MS BRUCE: Right. Yeah.

QUESTION: There is resistance at the United Nations. Where does the U.S. stand not on negotiations but on the issue of how to get food in? Because the President has expressed concern about starvation and other – the medical needs.

MS BRUCE: Sure, the suffering. Yeah. He’s been very forceful over the last couple of weeks about what needs to happen, about how the Gazan people have been – I think it’s an understatement to say that they’ve been treated horribly by Hamas. And what I can tell you is that there is a – for those of you – I’m sure you’ve seen some elements of this – that as President Trump called for creative solutions that would secure peace, protect Israel, and leave Hamas empty-handed and help Gazans. And due to his inspirational leadership, we are steps away from that solution, from being able to deliver the aid and the food that has been discussed and it’s – I was hoping to introduce it today, but the foundation will be announcing this shortly.

While we don’t have anything to announce in specifics in this regard today, and I will not speak on behalf of the foundation which will be doing the work, we welcome moves to quickly get urgent food aid into Gaza in a way – and this is – you’ve heard me remark on this repeatedly – in a way that the food aid actually gets to those to whom it’s intended. We – it cannot fall into the hands of terrorists such as Hamas, and we support a plan to get in aid right now and urge others to do so as well. Once again, a situation where the status quo continues to fail, and we required new visionary ideas. President Trump said earlier, “We are going to help the people of Gaza because they are being treated very badly by Hamas.” We are taking care of it. And this is in the moment something that looks like it’s going to solve all of those issues.

QUESTION: Is this a nongovernmental foundation?

MS BRUCE: Correct.

QUESTION: And it is not UN?

MS BRUCE: I don’t want to say anything else.

QUESTION: Okay. But it’s not at the Israeli military?

MS BRUCE: What – I will not say anything else about the details. What I can say regarding the UN, as you’ve intimated, has had some problems, but endless press releases and Hamas appeasement have not delivered food, medicine, or shelter to those who need it. This is a new approach with one focus: get help to people right now. We’ve had the conversations every time I’ve been in here, and even on the days that we’re not in here, about the suffering and the problems that we faced. And this is a dynamic that will help solve that. It would be – to say the least – disappointing to let this opportunity to improve Gazan lives go and fail as well as the other efforts have been also.

QUESTION: And with your indulgence, the President mentioned in the Oval Office the other day that it’s his understanding that there are 21, not 24 alive hostages – as in the 59, I guess, which includes those who have died, been murdered. That has not been clarified. Is that the number that –

MS BRUCE: Well, this is – yes, I can’t speak to – the President, of course, speaks for himself. There is –

QUESTION: Was that the office –

MS BRUCE: Information that he has, the nature of what his remarks will be – I won’t be speaking about that or speculating on the nature of what information he has, which is clearly a heck of a lot more than I have. But we do know of just the horrific result of this dynamic as we ask for hostages to come home – often which they come home in body bags. It is – it’s a – it’s unacceptable, and it must end. And I see, Nadia, your hand. Yes, ma’am.

QUESTION: Thank you, Tammy. Just to follow up on Andrea’s question first, and then I have another question. Mr. Witkoff has briefed the Security Council members. What exactly are you looking for? Is it financial support? Political support? Because you have China and Russia on it. Are they going to be involved partly on this new Gaza charitable fund?

MS BRUCE: Well, that was a conversation that was private, and I’m not going to go into details of what was discussed, as I wouldn’t, as you know, with any kinds of diplomatic conversations between leadership. But yes, that – conversations occurred, but I cannot give you any of those details.

QUESTION: But you don’t want the UN – I mean, not the UN, but the member states to play a role in delivering food or even donating money towards that fund?

MS BRUCE: Well, discussing the mechanisms of what happens here will be more than appropriate when this is announced by the foundation and the details are there. And then I will be more than happy to then go into a framework of answering questions about what certain things mean. But in order to do that, I would be getting ahead of the announcement, and I think that certainly is a mistake. But we will – we can get those details, certainly.

QUESTION: Okay, great. Can I ask you about Saudi?

MS BRUCE: Let’s – we’ll go here, and –

QUESTION: Sure.

MS BRUCE: – we’ll come back around.

QUESTION: Sorry, just to follow up on that.

MS BRUCE: Of course.

QUESTION: You’ve mentioned a few times the foundation. Is this the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation based in Switzerland that’s been – it’s been – people have found that this has been established, but I don’t think – I’m trying to understand the – if that’s the foundation, what’s the relationship –

MS BRUCE: Well, I would encourage – this is the charitable Gaza foundation that we – of course, as you know, has already been in the news. It’s out a bit. It – the – it has not been announced officially. I would think it’s a mistake to try to guess at or speculate. We’re – it’s coming up soon. There’s no reason to try to guess. And then when they make their announcement, you’ll have the details you need.

QUESTION: Before the trip?

MS BRUCE: Oh, I can’t tell – I can’t tell you that at this point.

QUESTION: But – we’re seeing this Swiss-based foundation. You keep mentioning a foundation. So I think it’s understandable that we’re – that’s – people are jumping to that being the basis for –

MS BRUCE: Well, it shouldn’t be because that requires speculation and guessing. And if it – I’m not going to say whether it is or is not, but I’m not a fan of speculating and guessing. And I know you’ve got jobs to do that sometimes you’ll look for information where you can pull those threads together. But that’s not what we’re going to do here. All right? All right.

Yes, sir. Nick.

QUESTION: Thanks. On Iran. There’s new reporting today on a previously undisclosed facility that’s being used as part of Iran’s nuclear program. I want to get your reaction to that, and what impact you think that might have on the ongoing nuclear talks.

MS BRUCE: I can say a little bit of something on that. It won’t – you won’t like it. It won’t be a lot. You won’t wear down your pencil. We have seen those reports and have no comment. (Laughter.) So it’s – I know. And – but reiterating, of course – which I think you also have written down somewhere, I’m sure – Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. And the President has said this repeatedly.

QUESTION: Do you think with hidden sites, though, that that’s an indication of how the lack of forthcoming Iran has been on talks and whether or not this could be a hiccup?

MS BRUCE: Well, there are very smart people having those conversations. The world knows what Iran has been doing, and there’s a reason why we’re now trying to talk with them to change the trajectory of what goes on. And, of course, as the President has said and as the Secretary has said about the Russia/Ukraine dynamic, is that we look at actions as opposed to words. And in this case, the experts and the negotiators, the ambassadors, the special envoys, they all know the environment and the dynamic, and I’m sure this adds into it for them.

Yes, sir.

QUESTION: On Iran. Is there any new information about the upcoming meeting between the Iranians and the Americans? And do you know where it’s going to be held?

MS BRUCE: I’m sorry, the twenty –

QUESTION: The fourth round of meetings between Iran and the U.S.

MS BRUCE: Oh, the fourth round. I really don’t have a comment on that at this point. What we do know is previously Ambassador Witkoff has noted that it will – something will be happening in the future that the details are not available. This is something that we know there is, again, a continual – there’s continual work on this, and he’s – we know that – I can’t even say that – that he has said, again, we don’t have any specifics at this point. And I don’t have any comment. All right.

All right. Yes, sir.

QUESTION: Thank you, Tammy. I have two questions, one very quick about Gaza –

MS BRUCE: So I have no comment. Oh, no, so keep going.

QUESTION: (Laughter.) My second –

MS BRUCE: Keep going.

QUESTION: – is about the Houthis.

MS BRUCE: Yes, sir.

QUESTION: About Gaza. You said that the announcement will be soon, but how confident you are that it will be agreed upon by all parties, especially the Israeli part, and Hamas in Gaza?

MS BRUCE: Well, in general I know that President Trump has created a lot of deals; the best dealmaker in the world. He’s now with – after his first term very well acquainted with the players in the world and what it takes. He’s got the best people around him, as we know. But what I can say specifically here is that – about our objective, it remains defending freedom of navigation and American deterrence in the region. President Trump has been clear from the start whether – how this ends up, really, is up to the Houthis. We’ve always said that when they stop – that when they stop, we will stop. And that’s where we’re at at this point when it comes to statements that have been made.

President Trump has said, of course, what has happened – as I think all of us can agree – is a positive development. And so that’s where we’re at. And he’s said, as I think you’ll recall, that the president – the Houthis simply don’t want to fight anymore. If – there’s no additional measures that we would report at this stage, and I think that’s really about it. I think we’re – we know, again, it’s not quiet on all fronts, to say the least. But the development itself is key, and we have people working on all of these issues who have an end goal – which is also a fresh framework from the Trump Administration – that there has to be progress, there has to be an endpoint, and that people work towards that. We’ve tended to not see those things, and we have here.

So I’m looking forward to some key results.

QUESTION: But Houthis are saying that the Israeli ships are not part of any deal. Can you confirm?

MS BRUCE: Oh, well –

QUESTION: Or deny?

MS BRUCE: I have no comment on that. I suppose we’ll find out what happens.

Yes, sir.

QUESTION: Thank you, Tammy. May I move to Ukraine, please?

MS BRUCE: Certainly.

QUESTION: Now that the minerals deal is in full effect, can you please help us understand where its implications on the ground? In other words, if Russia keeps attacking and targeting those various sites that you are looking to – forward to work on with Ukraine, will that deem to be Russia’s violating your minerals deal with Ukraine?

MS BRUCE: Well, remember, this is not at all related to the negotiations regarding the ceasefire and the conflict. This is a separate dynamic that is an arrangement of an economic partnership between the United States and Ukraine. This is something that is meant, certainly, to endure and to provide – as we know as the brilliance of this is to provide the money coming up in the future to rebuild once this is finished. And that’s what we’re looking at. But it’s also clear to the world and to all the players involved that Ukraine has a partnership with the United States. It is an economic partnership, it is one that will last for generations, and will make a difference for every Ukrainian and will strengthen the national security of that country. And that’s what good business partnerships do across the board.

But again, it is not a mechanism linked to the negotiations, to a ceasefire, to the war. But it certainly is something that, again, when it comes to national security and the nature of who your friends are, as we’ve said, being a friend of the United States is something that can help your country, make it more secure, and opens up the future for people.

So that is, in the midst of all the difficulties for our Ukrainian friends whom we continue to support and have exerted much energy on, not just for one thing – certainly the ceasefire and an end to the conflict is key – but thinking creatively about what do we do to stop this from continuing. And that’s now what – of course a question that we have in multiple parts of the world.

All right, yes, go ahead.

QUESTION: And on that line, Tammy, may I please follow up? You said the ceasefire is key. Is it still your position that complete, unconditional, 30-day-long ceasefire should be the first step?

MS BRUCE: Well, it should be forever. I mean, you can’t discuss – as the President has noted, and the Secretary, you can’t discuss what the results are for peace when people are still getting slaughtered. How – that can’t work. It’s a very low bar for a first step, and that is – remains the first step. It has to happen. We’ve been very clear, the Secretary in particular, that this can only begin – any discussion regarding how the peace endures is when you have a ceasefire, which is, frankly, the first key part of good faith regarding what you intend for the future.

All right, yes.

QUESTION: Thank you, Tammy. Just switching to Venezuela, the Secretary tweeted about members of the political opposition in Venezuela and this rescue operation in his words –

MS BRUCE: Yes.

QUESTION: – and that those individuals were welcomed into the United States. There’s been some consternation about a handful of Americans still detained in Venezuela, American citizens. So I just wanted to get some clarity on the ones that were released in this, quote, “rescue operation.” They were Venezuelan citizens. What does this mean for the Americans that are still detained in Venezuela and what could you say to their families who are now a bit concerned about the – securing a release for their loved ones?

MS BRUCE: Well, this was a unique opportunity. I will put it that way. But we also know, as President Trump has promised, is to bring every American home. And that – you want to talk of an enduring promise, and a promise that is kept and grows every week, it seems. So that continues. It is a horrible situation to be in, whether it’s Edan Alexander and the other Americans who are held by Hamas or other situations around the world. The President inherited a horrible situation and he is fixing it.

So we do – this is – for the messaging, what Americans have been appropriately happy about is the fact that when President Trump said we’re going to bring every American home, he meant it and there’s action all the time about that, indicating that that is not just a slogan. It is something that people work on every day to make happen in very different kinds of environments, very different kinds of arrangements. This case was an extraction. And yes, for American families who still have an empty seat at their table as Mother’s Day comes by and other holidays that have been missed, there is no greater friend to the American people and to this country and its legacy than Donald Trump and the people that he has chosen to work with him to gain this success for American individuals. Literally, the forgotten man and woman was the framework America was dealing with, but we won’t let that happen – not only here at home, but abroad.

So those families, certainly our hearts and prayers go with them, but so does the power of the American government and the commitment of Donald Trump. And that is something that will make the difference. That’s what I can say to them.

Yes, go ahead.

QUESTION: Thank you, Tammy. Following the demonstrations yesterday from pro-Palestinian protestors in Columbia University’s Butler Library, the Secretary also tweeted that the Trump Administration would be reviewing the visa status of the individuals involved. Can you say anything more on that? Is that review underway? And if so, have any of the visas been revoked?

MS BRUCE: Yes, the Secretary had noted that regarding the vandalism, the violence, the holding of that room, that those individuals would be looked at regarding their status and what was happening, and I believe that is ongoing.

So if there is a dynamic, also he noted that Hamas supporters are not going to remain in this country and that action would be taken there. So certainly he’s being consistent. He means it. And in this particular case, you had people arrested and that building was reopened, and I think that the nature of our promise that people who are in this country with a visa and who do not follow our laws or affect the nature of what’s important to our country when it comes to our foreign policy and national security will be acted on in that regard. And yes, he said it, and I believe him, and that’s the words you can take for it, I think.

Yes. Matt Lee is busy doing something?

QUESTION: Well, I’m trying to send your quotes about the Venezuela situation off.

MS BRUCE: Oh, well, he’s writing. Thank you. All right. Well, I will come back around to you.

QUESTION: I don’t have – that was – that was my question on it, and so I don’t have any more.

MS BRUCE: All right, so you got the Venezuela. All right. All right.

All right, yes, ma’am. Right there.

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

MS BRUCE: Yes.

QUESTION: But I also have a Venezuela question I’m going to –

QUESTION: Venezuela?

MS BRUCE: Do you have Venezuela? You – so do you have Venezuela as well?

QUESTION: No, I don’t. I was –

MS BRUCE: You’ve got a Venezuela. Let’s go ahead. Thank you.

QUESTION: Thank you. The Argentine press claims the CIA officers took advantage of a security breach to extract these hostages from the embassy in Caracas. Does the State Department confirm this version?

MS BRUCE: Well, it sounds like a movie to me.

QUESTION: (Laughter.) Yeah.

MS BRUCE: Maybe in a few years or maybe from five years ago. Of course I won’t comment on gossip and speculation and amazing stories. But at this point, those are stories.

QUESTION: I have another question.

MS BRUCE: Yes.

QUESTION: Diosdado Cabello insists that the release of –

MS BRUCE: I’m sorry, who insists?

MS BRUCE: Diosdado Cabello is one the members of the regime.

MS BRUCE: All right, thank you.

QUESTION: Diosdado Cabello.

MS BRUCE: Yeah, yeah.

QUESTION: It’s okay, it’s okay.

MS BRUCE: Of course.

QUESTION: He insists that the release of the hostages was a result of a negotiation with the United States. Was there such a negotiation? Were Diosdado, the head of the intelligence apparatus, or Maduro aware of what was happening? Or did this happen behind their backs?

MS BRUCE: Well, first of all I have to reject the entire premise. I’m not going to comment on any of those assertions, which is all they are. If and when there will be details about what occurred, you’ll hear it from us. And it may also sound like a movie. I don’t know. But what I do know is that these individuals are now out of harm’s way as we continue to work to pull more individuals out of harm’s way.

All right. Yes, sir.

QUESTION: Tammy?

QUESTION: Thank you, Tammy. A question on Syria. I was wondering if you have any reaction to the Syrian interim authority appointment of Ahmed al-Hayes as the commander of a division in northeast Syria. He has been under the U.S. sanctions for serious human rights violation, including the assassination of the Kurdish politician Hevrin Khalaf. Is that the kind of action the United States expects from the Syrian interim authority?

MS BRUCE: Here’s what I can tell you, is that the interim authority’s decision to appoint this individual who has a long record of human rights abuses and undermining our Defeat-ISIS mission to an official position is a serious mistake that the U.S. does not support.

All right.

QUESTION: On Syria.

MS BRUCE: All right.

QUESTION: Syria.

MS BRUCE: Yes. Yes, ma’am.

QUESTION: Thank you. Given the recent U.S. sanction exemption allowing Syria to receive a 29 million monthly grant for the next three months to pay civilian public sector salaries from Qatar, does this signal a potential shift in the stance? Are they satisfying your expectation with the conditions you brought before? So is this a shift, easing sanctions on Syria?

MS BRUCE: Well, we have in place a waiver mechanism from quite some time ago for assistance that would contribute to Syria’s stability in this process, all right? And that waiver dynamic is what has allowed Qatar to provide assistance for salaries of certain workers, so that they would not have needed a new approval, they would not have needed a new waiver. And again, any assistance that works within that framework has to be targeted to, again, helping to stabilize Syria. Certainly it’s not –

QUESTION: So no further sanction relief in the near future for –

MS BRUCE: Well, I can’t say that. I can’t say that at all. I do know that, as we’ve heard, things seem to continue to change. We continue to wait for them to respond in a manner that is appropriate regarding the asks that I’ve detailed for you here a number of times. Those – that situation, of course, is under constant monitoring, constant work, and we take every dynamic seriously, whether it is a backwards situation – something that we do not support, as I’ve just mentioned – or situations where it’s indicated that they’re moving in a direction that we do support.

All right.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MS BRUCE: All right. Yes, sir, in the back. Your glasses, yes, sir. Thank you.

QUESTION: Thank you, Tammy. I just have a question about the meeting on – over the weekend – next weekend. Secretary of Treasury is meeting with the Chinese economic delegates over the weekend, so I’m just wondering: has State Department played any part in that – in scheduling that meeting? Or can you also share how that meeting is scheduled?

MS BRUCE: Well, these are trade talks in Switzerland?

QUESTION: Yes, that’s –

MS BRUCE: Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent and USTR Ambassador Jamieson Greer will discuss trade with their Chinese counterpart in that instance, in Switzerland. At President Trump’s direction, the United States is negotiating with countries to rebalance – as you all know, because I’ve said it so many times – to rebalance our trade relations, to achieve reciprocity, open new markets, and protect America’s economic and national security. President Trump’s tariffs on China exist because of China’s longstanding unfair trade practices and its decision to retaliate instead of seeking a path forward.

All right? And I’ll check one more time here with our bullpen. How are we doing? We’re good?

QUESTION: Tammy –

MS BRUCE: All right. That’s – all right. I’m sorry, actually, yes, I was going to come to you after Venezuela. Just go ahead.

QUESTION: No, no problem. On the – Secretary Rubio himself, I think many Americans are – American taxpayers are just wondering how this is going to work between both the State Department as well as the National Security Advisor position.

MS BRUCE: Sure.

QUESTION: And I know that you addressed this before, but this was – it was a week ago.

MS BRUCE: Well, every day there’s something new. Every day there’s –

QUESTION: Many things have happened since then.

MS BRUCE: Yes.

QUESTION: And so was wondering: does this position come with a higher salary? Is he going to have an office over at the White House? How much will he be at the White House, over here? And then I have a follow-up.

MS BRUCE: Well, from initial examinations, it appears as though, despite needing a giant business card with a bunch of jobs on it, he’s being paid one salary. So we – he’s saving Americans money, as a matter of fact, by doing multiple jobs. But I think what’s interesting here – and certainly the India-Pakistan situation highlights this – is that – and we’ve thought about this – that the work of the State Department and foreign policy very often, because of the nature of the world, matches the nature of the National Security Advisor’s work. Of course, we are all working to move forward President Trump’s agenda and his vision for making not just America great, but that also, of course, benefits the world at large.

So we’re looking at a dynamic with Secretary Rubio, in fact – again, being a point person in the lead of this – these initial days of dealing with Pakistan and India – that those conversations have been vital and important, and his role as has made that possible. And of course, it’s – would always be that way. This is not an unusual position for him with the work that he’s already been doing. So I’ve mentioned to our in-house – our resident – reporters that I don’t see and I think most of us don’t see much change at all because of already the nature of the agenda of the Trump Administration and how it’s moved forward.

So with money, he’s saving us some money. And also, remember, this is an interim position, that it is – it’s not a permanent position. He’s – but it matches perfectly well because of the nature of his work anyway. The State Department, as I’ve noted, has an impressive bench of leaders, and our work, of course, continues regularly. And sometimes, instead of seeing him in person, we will have a conversation on the phone. But yes, so we don’t see any – I don’t know if Americans will see any disruption or change other than the successes that come forward with President Trump and Secretary Rubio.

QUESTION: So you’re saying it’s the same exact salary as before?

MS BRUCE: Well, I would – I would have to – I didn’t know what his salary was before; I don’t know what it is right now. But I know that he’s not receiving two salaries or more. That’s what I know.

All right. Shaun, one more time, and we’ll end it here.

QUESTION: Sure. Can I switch topics? Denmark – Denmark announced yesterday that was going to summon the U.S. ambassador over reports of the U.S. stepping up intelligence gathering – espionage, as they put it – in Greenland. Do you have anything to say about this summons or about – or more broadly about the issue of Greenland –

MS BRUCE: This, again, you’ve got to get another pencil out, because it’s going to wear it down. We do not comment on intelligence matters.

QUESTION: How about the summons with the message to Denmark?

MS BRUCE: We’re not going to comment on intelligence matters or issues surrounding what the accusations are here. We just – we’re not going to do it.

All right, you guys. Thank you very much. And for those of you who are moms, happy Mother’s Day coming up. Thank you all very much. And next week, because I will be traveling with the Secretary – I know I’ve said this before, but this time it’s undeniable – will be Mr. Tommy Pigott on Tuesday and Thursday, my principal deputy. So I was going to say be gentle, but don’t be gentle. He’s ready for you and he looks forward to getting you all what you need. Thank you, all, very much.

QUESTION: Thank you, Tammy.

MS BRUCE: Thank you.

(The briefing was concluded at 2:59 p.m.)

# # #