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State Department Briefing, June 26, 2025: NATO's 5 Percent Pledge, a New Trafficker-Family Visa Policy and $30 Million for Gaza Aid

June 26, 2025 · U.S. Department of State · 1:28:36

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What happened

Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott led the State Department briefing on June 26, 2025, according to the department’s recording. Pigott opened by noting that the First Lady and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had returned from The Hague, where allies committed to dramatically increase defense and security spending to 5 percent of GDP, which he said ensures NATO has the forces, capabilities, readiness and resilience to deter and defend against modern threats — peace through strength, as he framed the summit outcome, crediting President Trump’s leadership with reinvigorating the alliance.

Pigott announced a new visa restriction policy, announced by the Secretary that day, for close family members and close personal and business associates of drug traffickers sanctioned under the executive order he cited, saying it will both prevent them from entering the United States and deter continued illicit activity, as part of using all tools to keep fentanyl out of the country. He said Secretary Rubio would sign a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Congo the following day, calling it a milestone while cautioning that peace on paper must be matched by implementation on the ground, and he noted Rubio would host Quad foreign ministers in Washington on July 1, his first diplomatic engagement format from the start of his tenure, to advance a free and secure Indo-Pacific, as Pigott previewed the schedule.

In questions, Pigott said the United States has approved $30 million in funding for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and called on other countries to support its work, crediting it with distributing over 46 million meals to date, a figure he repeated under follow-up questioning about distribution sites in southern Gaza and access in the north. He also declined to speculate on the department’s planned reduction in force ahead of a July 1 deadline under a federal judge’s injunction, saying the department has no plans to violate a court order, and he described the reorganization as ensuring the department can move at what he called the speed of relevance and meet twenty-first-century challenges, as he answered questions on staffing criteria.

Why it matters

The briefing stacks the week’s foreign-policy claims in one place: a 5 percent NATO spending norm won at The Hague, a visa tool aimed at traffickers’ families, and the first U.S. money behind the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s aid model.

Scoreboard watch

Scoreboard watch: Pigott’s June 26, 2025 announcements set two dated events — the Rwanda-Congo peace agreement signing on June 27 and the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting on July 1, 2025 — flagged for the scoreboard editors, with no verdict entered here.

Sources: U.S. Department of State, “Department of State Press Briefing - June 26, 2025 - 2:00 PM”, 2025-06-26 (official upload, embedded above; published 2025-06-26). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.