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Oil Touches Four-Year-High, Gas Jumps 7 Cents Overnight; Sources Say, Iran War Cost May be Double Pentagon's $25 Billion Estimate; Florida Passes New Map That Could Give Four More House Seats. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired April 30, 2026 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news, gas prices, surge overnight, hitting four-year highs. How long could this last?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And breaking news, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Joint Chiefs chairman, they're returning to Capitol Hill. What we're watching for as lawmakers question them about the war with Iran.

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.

Now we begin this hour with breaking news and a reality check on the cost of the war. Sources now tells CNN the Pentagon's latest estimate of some $25 billion spent so far on the war with Iran may be dramatically low. Three people familiar with the matter tell CNN the real cost may be twice that. And it comes as the White House considers new strategies as peace efforts stall.

Next hour, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is back up on Capitol Hill for a second straight day defending the war. Expect to see more fiery exchanges with lawmakers.

And the fallout of the war is reaching the home front, gas prices jumping 7 cents overnight, the biggest one-day jump in some six weeks. The national average is now $4.30 per gallon, regular gas, and oil is touching a four-year high.

This is what the president and his energy secretary have been saying about those prices.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Are you worried about gas prices right now?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: No, this is a short excursion.

You're going to see a very big decrease in the price of gasoline, gas, anything having to do with energy as soon as this has ended.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: When do you think it's realistic for Americans to expect that gas will go back to under $3 a gallon?

CHRIS WRIGHT, ENERGY SECRETARY: I don't know. That could happen later this year. That might not happen until next year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Let's go to CNN Business and Politics Correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich. Vanessa, why the big spike in gas overnight?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it's because you have oil trading at a four-year high as well. Just look at these gas prices in the last three days alone, the national average now $4.30 cents for a gallon of regular gasoline. Just look it in three days. That's a 12-cent jump. That is certainly meaningful for people who rely on filling their gas tank up every single day. That is more than $1.20 increase, more than a dollar, excuse me, 30 increase since the beginning of the war, and that is because oil has been trading above $100 a gallon for the last week or so.

You can see Brent Crude trading there down on the day a little bit, $114 a barrel, U.S. Crude trading at $105. But at one point overnight, Wolf, you had Brent Crude trading at $126 a barrel. That was because of nervousness over a potential escalation between the U.S. and Iran and some wonkiness in the oil contract market where futures move from a June market to a July market, and oil prices were elevated in that July month.

But look at what that is doing to oil prices, gas prices, and diesel prices, oil up nearly 60 percent, gas up 44 percent since the beginning of the war at the end of February, and diesel up nearly 50 percent, also jet fuel, which is used for airlines, up about 50 percent as well.

We are already hearing about shortages. These are things like cosmetics, which use petroleum jelly, shortages there. Also instant noodles, the packaging is made from plastic, derived from oil, medical gloves, of course, plastic as well. These are mainly shortages happening in Asia, but, of course, these are things that everybody is watching out for.

Also on the horizon for consumers, what is going to happen to food prices, perishables, dairy, milk, produce, things that need to be shipped in regularly on trucks that use diesel, which has jumped by 50 percent? Of course, travel for everyday Americans, gas prices up 42 percent, and that's airfare also increasing because of those jet fuel prices.

A lot to watch out for, but, obviously, not great news for consumers as they're filling up today at the gas pump $4.30 a gallon, something we haven't seen in four years.

[10:05:01]

Wolf? YURKEVICH: Yes, $4.30 a gallon now, that's the national average. In some parts of the country, it's a lot more than that. I filled up my car the other day. It was close to $5 a gallon. That's in suburban Washington, D.C.

Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you very much for that update. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf, I'll take it from here.

Breaking news, according to Iranian state media, Iran supreme leader reportedly says foreign actors have no place in the Persian Gulf except in, quote, the depths of its waters. This comes as sources say President Trump is doubling down on his naval blockade of Iranian ports, including a longer term closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

So, let's go to CNN's Senior White House Reporter Kevin Liptak. Kevin, how is the White House responding to these new comments said to be from the supreme leader?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, they're not going to go over particularly well here at the White House. You know, President Trump has been seeking total capitulation from Iran, and it has been difficult for the White House and for administration negotiators to get a final word from the supreme leader now that they have heard from him in these public remarks.

I think you're going to hear a degree of frustration that these negotiations have so far not caused the Iranians to cave. What we've seen President Trump doing is really digging into the strategy of trying to inflict economic pain on the Iranian regime. You hear the president tasking his advisers to prepare for extended closure of the Strait of Hormuz. When you talk to American officials, they say their intelligence suggests that the Iranian regime could collapse within days or weeks as they allow this stockpile of unsold oil to potentially destroy their infrastructure.

Now, at the same time, the president has not ruled out restarting the bombing campaign against Iran. And what you'll see today is the president here updated options from military officials, including the CENTCOM commander, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, talking about some of these options going forward.

Now, President Trump has appeared in public reluctant to restart the bombardment of Iran. He much prefers a diplomatic solution to this conflict. Pakistani mediators have suggested that they expect a proposal to come from Iran by today, potentially by Friday. But so far, the end of this war and how it comes to a conclusion remains somewhat unclear.

BROWN: I want to ask you something else, Kevin, about this call that Trump had with Vladimir Putin. He says, Putin would like to be involved in helping to settle the issue of Iranian nuclear enrichment. What more did he say?

LIPTAK: Yes. And the president left it somewhat vague, but our understanding is that the president was talking about this question of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, you know, the more than 400 kilograms that are believed to be buried far underground. It's a proposal that Vladimir Putin has raised previously that, Russia could potentially take shipment of that uranium. It's a role that Russia played in the 2015 Obama era agreement that Trump has derided.

When the president was talking about this idea yesterday, he seemed to shrug it off, saying that he would much rather, Russia, focus on ending the war in Ukraine. And then Kaitlan Collins, our colleague, asked the president, which conflict he thought would end sooner. Listen to what he said on that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: On your call with President Putin today, do you think the war in Iran ends first or the war in Ukraine?

TRUMP: Well, we talked about more about the war in Ukraine, but he would like to be of help. I said, before you help me, I want to end your war. So, we had a good talk. I've known him a long time.

COLLINS: But which war do you think ends first?

TRUMP: That's an interesting question, you know, coming from you. That's very interesting. Which war would end first? I don't know. Maybe they're on a similar timetable. I think Ukraine, militarily, they're defeated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: So, similar timetable that's going to raise some alarm bells given that the Ukraine war has been going on for four years and negotiations to end it seem like they're at a standstill.

BROWN: All right. Kevin Liptak live for us from the White House, thanks so much. Wolf?

BLITZER: And still ahead, soon, Secretary Hegseth in the hot seat again. Next hour, the defense secretary is set to testify up on Capitol Hill as lawmakers questioned the real cost of the Iran War.

BROWN: And later, a CNN exclusive. I talked with the first woman who came forward to say Matt Lauer sexually assaulted her. The former Today Show anchor says their interactions were consensual. What she's learned through her experience and what she wants other women to know.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The reality is the gray area is the norm. You think what happened to me can't possibly be a sexual assault because I didn't react the way a real rape victim did. Well, yes, you did. We just have the wrong ideas about how victims react.

[10:10:01]

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BLITZER: Happening now, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, is about to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee. For the second straight day, he will face blistering questions from lawmakers over the war with Iran and its soaring cost. And today's testimony comes amid new CNN reporting, a top Pentagon official told the House yesterday that the war has cost the U.S. $25 billion so far. But sources of tell CNN the actual cost is closer to $50 billion. That's when you add in the cost of replacing lost assets, like fighter jets and repairing the U.S. bases struck by Iran in the region.

Yesterday, Hegseth was grilled over the progress of the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. SETH MOULTON (D-MA): How is this war going? Do you think we're winning?

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Militarily on the battlefield, it's been an astounding military success.

[10:15:02]

MOULTON: No, but are we winning the war?

HEGSETH: Absolutely.

MOULTON: Okay. So, do you call Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz winning?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Let's go straight to CNN Correspondent Brian Todd. Brian, I know you're watching all this very closely. What are you expecting from Secretary Hegseth today in this second round of testimony?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we're expecting some very sharp and difficult exchanges in the Senate, just like we saw in the House yesterday. Those exchanges likely to come over the end strategy of the war and how they're planning, how the U.S. is planning to basically open up the Strait of Hormuz. Those are the real pressure points that I think Pete Hegseth will be facing. But he'll also be facing some more questions given our latest reporting that you just mentioned on the cost of the war and just what it's costing in material and in money.

There was a very heated exchange yesterday between Congressman Seth Moulton, a Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, who was himself an Iraq war veteran, and Pete Hegseth over the cost of the war overall. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MOULTON: At the end of the day, this also has a cost to us. If let's say this war costs a hundred billion dollars, I mean, you've already said give us more time. It's only been two months. It could go on for 20 years, like Iraq and Afghanistan. Let's just say it costs a hundred billion dollars. What is that to the average American taxpayer? Do you have any idea?

HEGSETH: Well, unlike foolish previous administrations, it won't go on --

MOULTON: No, I'm just asking --

HEGSETH: -- for years and decades.

MOULTON: But let's just say it's a hundred billion dollars?

HEGSETH: Sitting in this position, it's hard to imagine how you've allowed those things to happen. You were a part of war.

MOULTON: You know the answer to that?

HEGSETH: So, was I, and I never --

MOULTON: I'm just asking if you know what your war costs the average American taxpayer.

HEGSETH: What is the cost of Iran having a nuclear weapon that they wield over --

MOULTON: I'm just asking if you know the cost of the average American --

HEGSETH: I'm asking you what the --

MOULTON: It's about $600. So, for the American taxpayers out there, my constituents, some of the constituents you wanted to represent in Minnesota, I'm just wondering if they have an extra $600 lying around to pay for your war.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: So, the questions getting very heated over the cost of the war. You can expect more of that in the Senate hearing, which begins in just about 45 minutes from now.

And, again, to reiterate what Wolf just mentioned at the top there, CNN new reporting on the cost of the war, the Pentagon comptroller, Jay Hurst, telling lawmakers yesterday that the rough cost of the war so far has been about $25 billion. But CNN sources, this is our reporting from Natasha Bertrand, Zachary Cohen and Haley Britzky, CNN sources saying that the actual -- that estimate is a low ball figure, that the actual cost is closer to $40 to $50 billion so far because what Jay Hurst gave to the House yesterday did not account for the cost of repairing U.S. military sites and bases that were damaged in the war and some U.S. military equipment damaged. Wolf?

BLITZER: Because the U.S. had a lot of bases in Bahrain, in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar that were damaged by the Iranian attacks during the course of these few weeks. Brian Todd reporting for us, thank you very, very much.

And just ahead redistricting the efforts get a big boost, Florida is about to become the latest state to draw a new map to try to help Republicans. How the Supreme Court's major decision this week could impact the balance of power in Washington.

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[10:20:00]

BLITZER: Happening now, Republicans have notched another big win in the redistricting wars. Just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court announced a landmark ruling yesterday that weakens the Voting Rights Act, Florida's legislature passed a new Congressional map that potentially could help the GOP pick up four more seats.

Let's go to CNN Chief National Affairs Correspondent Jeff Zeleny. Jeff, which party now has the edge in these redistricting wars and where does all this fight go from here?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, a great question, and effectively it is about awash. I mean, you'll remember that President Trump started this redistricting war, this gerrymandering war about a year ago, looking for more seats in the state of Texas, several other states responded.

But let's look at Florida specifically right now. If you look at the maps just to write on screen there, it's a dramatic change. These maps would potentially create a seats for -- that would be favorable for four Republicans to win seats.

Right now, the delegation in Florida, it's a large delegation to Congress, 28 members, it's split 20 Republicans and 8 Democrats. Under this new map, it could be split 24 Republicans and only 4 Democrats.

And if you look at the areas that have changed, the Orlando area in the middle of the state there, that would lose a Democratic seat. Tampa Bay on the gulf side, that would also lose a Democratic seat, as well as in South Florida, two Democratic seats would come from there.

So, a dramatic redrawing of the lines. Of course, Democrats are planning to challenge this in the Florida Supreme Court, but an open question, given the Supreme Court ruling yesterday on the Voting Rights Act, if that challenge is going to be as successful or not.

So, Wolf, a dramatic change in Florida, just part of this tit-for-tat that we have seen for much of the last year, unheard of in American politics, because, as you well know, usually these lines are drawn once a decade after the census. In this instance, they've been drawn in the mid-decade and that Supreme Court ruling ensures that this is just the beginning of all of those massive changes in Congressional lines.

BLITZER: We'll see how it unfolds. Jeff Zeleny, thank you very, very much. Pamela? BROWN: All right, Wolf. Coming up here in The Situation Room, days of emotional testimony, families of the people who died last year at Camp Mystic in Texas are pushing back as the camp pushes to reopen. Up next, I'll speak to the attorney for the family of Cile Steward, the lone missing little girl.

[10:25:00]

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BROWN: We're following new developments in the probe into the Camp Mystic flood disaster last summer. A bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers hired investigators to examine the camp's leadership team, natural disaster preparedness and evacuation protocol on the night of those deadly floods.

And this week's testimony has been telling with investigators saying that the Eastland family, which owns and runs the camp, failed to build a flashflood evacuation plan, hold drills, or give camp counselors any serious training and preparation for this weather event.

[10:30:00]

27 Campers and counselors at the Texas Girls Camp along with Camp Director Dick Eastland lost their lives. And the body of eight-year- old Cile Steward is still missing.