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The Situation Room

Interview With Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY); Will Iran Cease-Fire Be Extended?. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired April 15, 2026 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[11:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Plus, new CNN reporting coming in: why California Governor Gavin Newsom is now facing pressure to intervene in the race for his successor after Eric Swalwell dropped out.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: And we are following the breaking news.

A senior U.S. official tells CNN that the Trump administration has not formally agreed to extend the cease-fire with Iran. The current pause in fighting expires next week, and President Trump has suggested that another round of talks with Tehran could resume in Pakistan.

At the same time, though, the president says this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Is this war over?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it's close to over, yes. I mean, I view it as very close to over. You know what? If I pulled up stakes right now, it would take them 20 years to rebuild that country. And we're not finished.

We'll see what happens. I think they want to make a deal very badly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And joining us now, Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik of New York. She serves on the House Intelligence Committee and is the author of a brand-new, very important new book entitled "Poisoned Ivies: The Inside Account of the Academic and Moral Rot at America's Elite Universities."

Congresswoman, thanks very much for coming in. Thanks for writing this important book. We're going to discuss it shortly.

REP. ELISE STEFANIK (R-NY): Great.

BLITZER: But let's get to some of the important news of the day first before we get to "Poisoned Ivies." I love the title, but you can tell us about that as well.

President Trump has repeatedly claimed victory against Iran since the conflict began, only to continue with all the fighting that's going on. Now he says the war is -- quote -- "very close to over." Is that real?

STEFANIK: Well, look at the military achievements. The U.S. successfully destroyed the Iranian navy, the Iranian army, the missile capabilities, and has opened up the Strait of Hormuz to an international waterway, not allowing Iran to hold that hostage.

And if you take a step back, Wolf, this is a terrorist regime. This goes back to 1979. It's the greatest, the largest state sponsor of terrorism, funding Hamas and Hezbollah. They have blood of U.S. soldiers on their hands. They funded the October 7 attacks against Israel.

So this was a very strong peace-through-strength military operation, and it shows the success of the greatest military in the world with a very decisive commander in chief.

BROWN: When you say peace through strength, what do you mean by that? Because, as you know, 13 service members have been killed.

STEFANIK: And I represent Fort Drum, home of the 10th Mountain Division, the most deployed division in the U.S. Army since 9/11, where you had members of that military division who have been targeted and killed over the past decades by the Iranian terrorist regime and Iranian-backed militias.

Our heart goes out to those service members who have borne the ultimate sacrifice serving our nation. And we are keeping that in mind, and the president is every single day. But we have to take a step back, Pam. Iran has created war in the Middle East for decades, sowing chaos.

It is a blood-stained terrorist regime. And to have peace in the long term, you have to get rid of the Iranian terrorist regime to bring peace to the Middle East. And it, frankly, has strengthened our alliances with countries like UAE, with countries like Saudi Arabia, and, of course, a very close ally, Israel.

BROWN: I want to just follow up with you, because there is the military operation aspect of this, what's happening in the Middle East. And then there's the politics of it, what's happening with the economy.

I mean, I imagine you're hearing from your constituents on this. President Trump conceded to FOX News that the war with Iran will slow economic growth for some time. Do you agree with that assessment? And how much more challenging does it make your job ahead of the midterms, trying to keep control of Congress for the Republicans?

STEFANIK: Well, first of all, we're having this conversation on an important day in domestic economic politics. So it's Tax Day in the United States, and Americans are having historic tax cuts because of the reconciliation bill we passed.

And particularly in New York, I delivered the largest tax cut in history with the quadrupling of the state and local tax deduction. And I'm hearing from constituents who are saying, thank goodness you passed this tax bill.

Certainly, the president is correct that there are economic challenges in the short term, but this military operation is important not only for our national security, but for economic security for the long run. We are very focused on lowering the cost of living and making it more affordable, which is why, particularly in New York, I have been such an outspoken leader in lowering taxes, in lowering energy prices.

And that's a challenge in a state like New York with single-party Democrat rule, where they continue to raise taxes, including today, where our state governor broke her promise and put forth a tax hike, when people are already paying so much.

BLITZER: CNN exclusively reported last week, Congresswoman, that U.S. intelligence indicates China, China is preparing to deliver new air defense systems to Iran within the next few weeks. President Trump now says China has agreed not to send weapons to Iran.

[11:05:00]

Can and should President Trump trust the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping?

STEFANIK: Well, first of all, President Trump is masterful in terms of the leadership he shows on the global stage.

And other leaders of countries, whether they're adversaries, whether they're competitors or whether they're allies, they fear President Trump. And I think a weak Iran weakens China. This is geostrategically in a smart decision for the United States and for, frankly, our principles, our Western civilization principles.

BROWN: I just want to follow up with what you told me earlier. You said this war has strengthened our relationship with allies, but what about NATO allies?

As you know...

STEFANIK: NATO allies, Western European NATO allies, have been incredibly disappointing. And the president was correct in calling them out, particularly the French, particularly the Spanish and the Italians, who have turned their backs.

And it's, frankly, the U.S. that has propped up NATO, Pam. And we are the reason under, frankly, President Trump's tough leadership that countries in NATO have been forced to increase their defense spending. Where it has strengthened our allies is with our Eastern European NATO allies and particularly our alliances within the Middle East.

This Iranian rogue regime has, frankly, forced the other countries in the Middle East to strengthen their allies to counter this terrorist regime. BROWN: But should the administration have given the allies a heads-up

about this? Because, as you know, this has deeply impacted them and their economies.

STEFANIK: It's impacted them, and they should step up. They should step up.

BROWN: And should the U.S. withdraw from NATO, given what you laid out? The president has...

(CROSSTALK)

STEFANIK: No, they should step up. Those other allies should hold their end of the bargain. And it is incredibly disappointing.

And I am so proud that we have stood strong as Americans in terms of leading to open up this international waterway and not allow countries like French and like Spain and like Italy, which has been incredibly disappointing, that they have not been there, because this impacts not only their national security in terms of Iranian missiles targeting Europe, but it impacts their economic security as well.

BLITZER: The war has divided not only countries, but, as you know, Congresswoman, President Trump and Pope Leo are also split right now on several of these issues. You're a proud Catholic, as we all know.

Is it appropriate for a wartime president to repeatedly attack the first American pope because the pope has been speaking out against this conflict?

STEFANIK: Well, certainly, I'm proud that we have the first American pope. I don't want to see the pope as a politician. And the president, we know his leadership style. He is going to stand strong for the American people.

And the president of the United States is a political figure. Of course, he's going to be engaged in politics when he's politically attacked. I don't want to see the pope get involved in domestic politics.

What I think we can highlight as Catholics, for myself, is the increased number of new Catholics entering the church, and that's a great success for the Catholic Church long term.

BLITZER: We have also seen the president post that A.I.-generated image of himself as the pope and as Jesus, if you will, which he later deleted and said portrayed him as a doctor.

In your view, were those posts blasphemy?

STEFANIK: Certainly, the president made the correct decision in taking it down.

And, look, I know CNN loves to focus on the tweets and memes of President Trump. I look at his record of results. He has strong support from Catholics like me, and I have been proud of our record. And the media can continue talking about the tweets. I talk about the results. He's focused on bringing peace to the Middle East.

BROWN: But it is notable he's attacking the first American pope. And it is Republicans who are Catholics who are also coming out against that.

STEFANIK: But the pope should not be attacking. The pope, from my perspective, should not be engaging in political attacks.

I don't want to see the pope as a politician. I want to see the pope continue to focus on this resurgence that we're seeing in the Catholic Church.

BROWN: So you don't this as focusing on the Gospel, as he has said? He says: I'm not getting involved in politics. I'm focusing on the Gospel.

You don't see it that way?

STEFANIK: I don't believe that the pope should function as a politician. President Trump is a political leader, and he is a strong political leader.

So I was disappointed to see that attack from the pope. And I know CNN wants to continue to focus on these tweets. This is what has been happening for the past 10 years. Look at the results. Look at, historically, the historic number of support from Catholics for President Trump...

(CROSSTALK)

STEFANIK: ... from Catholics for House Republicans as well.

BROWN: Right. This isn't about CNN trying to focus on it. It is notable. There is news value.

STEFANIK: But you just asked how many questions on it, Pam? One after the other after the other.

BROWN: Well, I ask follow-up questions, because they were warranted.

But let me ask you about something else from our own reporting here at CNN. We're going to get to your book. Your book is all about so-called moral rot at colleges and universities. We're going to dive deeper into your book in just a moment.

But given everything we have seen in Congress over the past few days, since our exclusive reporting last Friday, the resignations of Democrat Eric Swalwell and Republican Tony Gonzales amid the allegations of inappropriate sexual relationships with staff, is there also moral rot in the halls of the Capitol?

STEFANIK: Well, Eric Swalwell's situation, I mean, this is Nancy Pelosi's protege in California. He's a previous presidential candidate. It is deeply disturbing.

And, frankly, I believe criminal -- crimes were committed if you look at...

BROWN: He denies those.

STEFANIK: But I have said what I believe, that we are going to find that. And it's deeply disturbing.

And I think it's -- frankly, the media should have done more coverage of this. This was sort of whispered about for many, many years.

[11:10:05]

BLITZER: Did you hear about it? Did you know about it?

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: But you're in the control of Congress. Why didn't you do more about it, being in control of Congress?

(CROSSTALK)

STEFANIK: Listen, I'm one of Eric Swalwell's biggest political foes, and I think, correctly, he was forced to resign.

But that was after only the public came forward and these brave women, and, frankly, staff members came forward. I think that every member, if there are these type of scandalous behaviors, they need to resign immediately, no matter what party they're in, and the leaders of both parties have to take this more seriously.

It used to be, Pam, in the day, and I have been through six speakers since I have been in Congress where they would bring in when there were any of these type of accusations, and there would be a much earlier resignation. And I think it's an indictment, frankly, of the institution.

And you're seeing many voices speaking up saying, enough is enough.

BROWN: Should more Republicans have called for Gonzales to resign earlier? I know that those calls came after the Swalwell allegations, and I know you did after the allegations came to light. And should Cory Mills, who is under a House Ethics investigation, a Republican congressmen, resign, just as the morally right thing to do?

STEFANIK: My advice as a member of Congress is, these members need to look in the mirror and really they know if they have been conducting themselves unfitting for the office, and they need to resign.

You have to hold yourself to a higher standard. And, frankly, we had strengthened rules in the institution of the U.S. Congress that were passed in 2018-2019 that, frankly, have not been abided by. So it needs to be a swift Ethics process, and those members should resign.

BLITZER: Critics, including Democrats, argue there's a double standard right now when it comes to sexual misconduct.

Back in 2023, a Manhattan federal jury found in a civil lawsuit that Donald Trump sexually abused E. Jean Carroll in the spring of 1996 and awarded her $5 million for battery and defamation. Trump denied all wrongdoing in that case.

CNN reporting has also documented multiple women who have come forward with public allegations of sexual misconduct against Donald Trump. All the alleged incidents took place prior to his assuming the presidency, as you know, and Trump has repeatedly denied all the claims, calling them fabrications. No criminal charges have resulted from them.

Do you give any credence at all to this question of whether there's a double standard going on?

STEFANIK: There's absolutely not a double standard.

If anything, the media is not focused on holding Democrats to account, and there's been an obsession with lawfare, going after...

BROWN: How can you say that? We just had the reporting Friday, and Congressman Swalwell resigned.

STEFANIK: After he was forced out. After he was forced out, Pam. Did you ever ask tough questions?

BROWN: What do you -- after he was forced out?

STEFANIK: After he was forced out by the public, after Eric Swalwell was forced to resign.

BROWN: I did the reporting with my team, Casey Tolan, Isabelle Chapman, and Shoshana...

STEFANIK: Just recently. Just recently.

BLITZER: Before he resigned.

BROWN: Before he resigned. And there...

STEFANIK: Eric Swalwell is a protege of Nancy Pelosi, ran for president of the United States, has an FEC report that's public about all these expenditures with these women.

And the fact that there was no media scrutiny whatsoever -- and to your question, Wolf, which was a substantive question, and because I'm from the state of New York, there has been a history of weaponized lawfare against President Trump.

Look at the texts. Look at the videos of Eric Swalwell. Look at the staff members' statements. That is very different than the lawfare and the politicization that we have seen.

BLITZER: I want you to stay with us. We have more questions. I want to also discuss "Poisoned Ivies," your new book.

STEFANIK: Great.

BLITZER: We will discuss that and what's going on. We have more in our next block. Stay with us.

STEFANIK: Thank you.

BROWN: I want to note, Ali Gordon was also part of that reporting team.

(LAUGHTER)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:18:06]

BLITZER: We're back with Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik of New York.

Congresswoman, I want to talk a little bit about "Poisoned Ivies." This is your brand-new book subtitled "The Inside Account of the Academic and Moral Rot at America's Elite Universities."

A lot of us remember that hearing where you were asking university presidents and leaders really serious, tough questions about antisemitism that was emerging at some of the major universities in the United States. Why did you decide to write about all of that in this book?

STEFANIK: Well, this is a very important book, Wolf, and it's not a typical political memoir. It is a substantive deep dive in the earthquake in higher education.

Many viewers will remember the hearing heard and seen around the world with the presidents of MIT, Penn and Harvard. And I asked them -- it was actually not a very tough question. It was a very straightforward, simple moral one, and that was this. Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate your university's code of conduct?

I expected them to say yes. And I was going to ask a follow-up, what disciplinary action? But they did not say yes. They said it depends on the context. And the world heard. It became the most viewed testimony in the history of Congress, over one billion views in a week, and it set off an earthquake.

The Penn president was forced to resign. The Harvard president was eventually forced to resign. And now you're seeing this seismic shift in higher education. So this book is an indictment not only of these universities that have fundamentally lost their way, but it also highlights universities that are showing strong moral and academic leadership. Institutions like Vanderbilt, University of Florida, University at Austin, Dartmouth, which is the sole Ivy that really showed strong leadership.

So it is a must read. It's number one nonfiction bestselling on Amazon. And I hope the American people will read that, because that hearing mattered in so many ways and resonated and was a cultural touch point.

(CROSSTALK) BLITZER: I just want to point out, I remember watching the hearing.

And you were asking these really, important tough questions about growing antisemitism to these university presidents.

[11:20:01]

And I simply assumed -- you were from New York -- you were Jewish. But you're Catholic. And this became such an important issue for you.

STEFANIK: I am Catholic.

And I think it's very important that Americans speak up to support our fellow Americans who are Jewish. New York is home to the highest population of Jews outside of Israel. This is very important. I think about my upbringing. I had so many Jewish friends.

I went to an all-girls day school right next to a synagogue. And to hear the stories of what these American Jewish students were facing, they were facing not just verbal harassment, but physical assaults, being spat on, swastikas drawn on their on their doors.

It was very challenging, frankly, to put this entire volume together, because it's so disturbing and an indictment of what these schools allowed to happen. So, as you remember, after October 7, Hamas' attack against Israel, there was a skyrocketing of these pro-Hamas encampments and antisemitism.

This is a painstakingly researched book, because I think that's important for history, Wolf, as we look back to that.

BLITZER: And the book is entitled "Poisoned Ivies," very important book. Thanks very much for writing it.

STEFANIK: Thank you so much, Wolf.

BROWN: Thank you for coming on. We appreciate it.

STEFANIK: Thanks.

BROWN: Author of the book here "Poisoned Ivies: The Inside Account of the Academic and Moral Rot at America's Elite Universities."

BLITZER: And just ahead: threatening retaliation. Iran now says it will shut down another shipping route if the United States doesn't end its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. We will discuss the possible impact.

That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:26:05]

BLITZER: This morning, we're hearing from President Trump. He says the war with Iran is, in his words, "very close to over" -- end quote. The president is also hinting at a new round of peace talks with Iran,

possibly this week. Sources tell CNN that Vice President J.D. Vance would likely lead those new negotiations, as he did with the talks that collapsed over this past weekend.

Iran says the two countries are still exchanging messages through Pakistani mediators. And Iran's state-affiliated media says a key Pakistani negotiator is now in Tehran.

Joining us now is CNN global affairs analyst Brett McGurk, a former Middle East adviser to four presidents, and retired U.S. Navy Admiral James Stavridis, a former NATO supreme allied commander.

Brett, let me start with you.

Have you seen anything that suggests to you that either side is more agreeable right now to major concessions since the talks collapsed last weekend?

BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, I think, Wolf, if you step back, I think the White House probably feels pretty good about where they are.

If I was in the Situation Room with Admiral Stavridis, say, and we were drawing up how do we use a military tool of power with a diplomatic tool of power, and if you look at what's happening right now with this blockade on the Iranian ports, that is going to bite Iran.

You have Asim Munir, the defense chief of Pakistan. He's the most powerful leader of Pakistan, nuclear-armed power, 600-mile border with Iran. He's in Tehran today, clearly delivering a message saying, hey, guys, do the deal.

The Chinese -- you had the UAE delegation in China yesterday. And the Chinese, I'm told, are leaning on Iran, open the strait, do a deal. So you kind of have this application of a military tool and diplomatic tool that I think is smart.

Now, the Iranians, of course, could choose to contest this militarily. The Revolutionary Guards, Wolf, are threatening to try to break the blockade with attacks against the Gulf, attacks against ships. So far, that hasn't happened. The cease-fire is holding.

So, as of right now, I think this is a pretty smart play. And I'm watching to see if the cease-fire holds, see where this diplomacy goes, whether there's another round of talks. But let's hope that's what happens over the coming days.

BLITZER: Admiral Stavridis, the president has been declaring victory over Iran for more than a month now. Listen to this. Just listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We have won. Let me tell you, we have won. You never like to say too early you won. We won. We won the bet. In the first hour, it was over.

Oh, I think we have won. We have knocked out their navy. We have knocked out everything.

I don't like to say this. We have won this. This war has been won.

We won, OK? They are militarily defeated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, Admiral, how close do you think this war really is to being over?

ADM. JAMES STAVRIDIS (RET.), CNN SENIOR MILITARY ANALYST: We don't know, is the short answer.

I think Ambassador McGurk has it exactly right, which is to say a pretty smart play using the military tool for a blockade. The U.S. Navy is pretty good at this. It's a challenging blockade, hundreds of miles, a couple of dozen major ports. But I think our forces are up to the task.

Here's what I'm worried about, mines in the water, not just in the strait itself, but all over the Gulf. That's something the Revolutionary Guard still has capacity to do. If one of those strikes one of our combatants, like occurred in the 1980s, almost sank a U.S. Navy frigate, USS USS Samuel B. Roberts. So worry about the mines.

But I, for one, am watching closely the physical location of negotiators. When I see Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and especially if the vice president returns, when I see them headed east to presumably Islamabad, maybe Geneva, that tells me we are getting pretty close to a deal.

So, bottom line, to answer the question, I think there's a 65 percent chance we see some kind of a continuation of the cease-fire and some shape of a deal probably in the next two to three weeks.