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State Department Briefing: Pigott on Hostage Release, Saudi Investment, and China Tariffs

May 13, 2025 · U.S. Department of State · 0:25:48

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott led the State Department briefing on May 13, 2025, filling in for Spokesperson Tammy Bruce, who was traveling with the Secretary and the President, according to the State Department. Pigott said Edan Alexander had been released from Hamas captivity and reunited with his family in Israel as a result of American leadership, as he stated it.

Pigott said President Trump had announced Saudi Arabia’s $600 billion commitment to invest in the United States during the Middle East trip strengthening ties with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, as he stated the figure. He said Secretary Rubio would travel to Türkiye for the NATO informal foreign ministers meeting, that 20 NATO allies had announced defense-spending increases since the November election, and that the department welcomed the India-Pakistan ceasefire, as he stated them.

Pigott said Iran negotiations continue to show progress while the administration remains clear Iran will never acquire a nuclear weapon, and that the president had secured an initial agreement with China to reduce China’s tariffs and set a path to open market access for American exports, as he stated it. He also cited falling inflation and grocery and gas prices at home, as he stated them. The spokesperson is not on this site’s tracked-officials roster, so the page carries no official tags.

Why it matters

The briefing is a compact official record of a single news day’s claims — the $600 billion Saudi commitment and the initial China tariff agreement, as Pigott stated them — each of which developed into longer-running stories tracked elsewhere on this site.

Scoreboard watch

Pigott stated Saudi Arabia had committed $600 billion in U.S. investment and that an initial China agreement would reduce China’s tariffs, as he stated them — checkable against subsequent deal documentation.

Sources: U.S. Department of State, “Department of State Press Briefing - May 13, 2025”, 2025-05-13 (official upload, embedded above; published 2025-05-13). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.