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State Department Briefing, May 22, 2025: Condemning the Murder of Two Israeli Embassy Staff Members

May 22, 2025 · U.S. Department of State · 0:46:08

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

What happened

Spokesperson Tammy Bruce led the State Department briefing on May 22, 2025, according to the department’s recording. Bruce opened with a statement condemning the murder of two staff members from the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. the previous night. She named the victims, Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, said the department’s Diplomatic Security Service is providing ongoing support to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department’s investigation and coordinating with other federal and local law enforcement partners, and quoted Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statement that those responsible will be tracked down and brought to justice, as she delivered the department’s response.

Bruce also recapped Secretary Rubio’s week on Capitol Hill, where she said he shared how the administration is implementing President Trump’s America First foreign policy vision, making clear that securing the borders, making communities safer and combating criminal cartels are again key foreign-policy priorities. She said the fiscal year 2026 budget request for the department and the department’s reorganization will enable it to deliver on that agenda and respond to twenty-first-century challenges, as she presented the testimony’s themes. She closed her announcements ahead of Memorial Day by honoring the Americans who gave their lives defending the country.

In questions, Bruce declined to discuss specific security-posture changes for embassies after the shooting, while saying the security of American diplomats and of diplomats in Washington is of paramount importance and is acted on every day. Asked about South Africa and the previous day’s Oval Office meeting, she disputed the characterization of an ambush, said President Trump has been very vocal about his concern over violence in South Africa and that its president did not arrive unaware of the administration’s position, and pointed to South Africa’s referral of Israel to the International Court of Justice and its closeness to Iran among the administration’s criticisms, as she answered the exchange.

Why it matters

The briefing shows the department absorbing an attack on allied diplomats in its own capital while simultaneously selling its budget and reorganization on the Hill — the two tracks, security response and institutional overhaul, that defined Rubio’s first months.

Sources: U.S. Department of State, “Department of State Press Briefing - May 22, 2025”, 2025-05-22 (official upload, embedded above; published 2025-05-22). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.