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Hegseth Says, Ceasefire is Not Over, Despite Mutual Attacks; California Gubernatorial Candidates Prep for CNN Debate; Gas Prices Up 30 Cents in One Week. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired May 05, 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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PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news, quote, the ceasefire is not over. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is laying out the U.S. strategy in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz and what the threshold is for the U.S. to consider the ceasefire broken.

Plus, the California governors debate, top candidates to lead the Golden State will face off tonight right here on CNN. What's at stake for voters?

And then later, one-on-one with Golden Tempo's trainer. Cherie DeVaux is the first female trainer ever to win the Kentucky Derby, and she will join us live here in The Situation Room.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Allegations of botched wildfire insurance. California is seeking millions of dollars in penalties from State Farm, saying it was slow to investigate and underpaid claims after the devastating Los Angeles wildfires. State Farm is now forcefully responding.

Plus, investigated for attending a vigil, new CNN exclusive reporting coming in on the Department of Veterans Affairs investigating employees who honored Alex Pretti, the V.A. intensive care nurse who was killed by federal immigration officials in Minneapolis.

And later, shocking anti-Semitic graffiti, several synagogues and homes in the New York City borough of Queens defaced with swastikas. We're following all the late breaking developments on the search for the culprits.

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.

And we begin with the breaking news out of the Pentagon, and a ceasefire now mired in doubt. Just a short time ago, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered an answer. He updated the U.S. military efforts to guide commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, and he says the ceasefire is still in effect despite both sides exchanging fire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: The president's going to make a decision whether anything were to escalate into a violation of a ceasefire. But, certainly, we would urge Iran to be prudent in the actions that they take to keep that underneath this threshold. This is about the straits, this is about freedom of navigation, this is about international waterways. This is about free flow of commerce, all the things that happened before and only Iran is contesting. So, right now, the ceasefire certainly holds, but we're going to be watching very, very closely.

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BLITZER: We're covering all the latest developments of this extremely important story. Let's begin our coverage this hour with CNN Senior National Security Reporter Zachary Cohen. He's with us in The Situation Room.

Zach, even President Trump sidestepped the status of the ceasefire last night, so is there more clarity today?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Wolf. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was very direct when he was asked about the status of that ceasefire, saying that it is not over despite the fact that the U.S. and Iran did trade fire yesterday around the Strait of Hormuz, which is really remains the key sticking point in this ongoing conflict between the two countries.

Now, we heard Hegseth also say that the determination as to whether or not the ceasefire would ultimately be broken is a political one, saying that that is a decision that rests with President Donald Trump himself. We also heard from Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Dan Caine, who echoed what Hegseth said about a ceasefire and the status of that being a political determination.

He also outlined a few new details about the skirmish, I guess you would call it, that has taken place in those waters in recent days. Take a listen to what Caine said about the status of the ceasefire as well as the clashes between U.S. and Iranian forces.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. DAN CAINE, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: Since the ceasefire was announced, Iran has fired at commercial vessels nine times and seized two container ships, and they've attacked U.S. forces more than ten times, all below the threshold of restarting major combat operations at this point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: So, again, Caine was asked directly what is that threshold for restarting combat operations, and he said something to the effect of, that's above my pay grade, this is a determination that will be made by the president of the United States.

But this goes hand in hand also with something else we heard from both Caine and Hegseth, which is outlining the Pentagon strategy around the Strait of Hormuz, obviously, the president announcing this new initiative where the U.S. would effectively guide ships through that key waterway.

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But so far, we have not seen any sort of relative return to normal flow of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. That is something that the Pentagon is trying to project confidence in -- project confidence to the shipping industry that it is safe to move through the waterway, but only time will tell if that message will be received by the shipping industry.

BLITZER: Very sensitive moment indeed. Zachary Cohen, thank you very, very much. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf. Now, let's go to CNN's Alayna Treene at the White House. Alayna, how is Hegseth responding to these growing calls for Congressional approval for this war?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Look, there's a couple things I really took away from this. One is that, essentially, when you talk about your specific question, Pamela, about Congressional approval and the War Powers Act that requires, I should note, the Trump administration, the White House to seek Congressional approval for a war to move forward after 60 days.

Well, essentially, what we heard from Hegseth was that given that they believe the ceasefire remains intact, that, essentially, the war is not currently ongoing. He said, essentially, that the clock had stopped when the ceasefire was declared and that it's up to the president to decide whether or not the war is going to continue in earnest.

And I do want to go back to a little bit of what Zach was talking about because, you know, there were big questions today about whether the fragile ceasefire was still intact, particularly after we saw the U.S. and Iran exchange fire yesterday, Iran also hitting a port in the United Arab Emirates.

And the way that Hegseth described it was that what they are doing in the strait with trying to guide these strips through that key waterway, known as Project Freedom, as the president has characterized it. He said that was separate from what they are doing with the ongoing war with Iran.

Listen to how we put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEGSETH: Ultimately, this is a separate and distinct project and we expected there would be some churn at the beginning, which happened. And we said we would defend and defend aggressively, and we absolutely have. Iran knows that. And, ultimately, the president's going to make a decision whether anything were to escalate into a violation of a ceasefire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: What I think is so notable about all of this, Pamela and Wolf, is that we know that the president has specifically really been hesitant to want to restart all-out war, as the Pentagon framed it this morning, you know, massive or major combat operations. Instead, he still is prioritizing some sort of diplomatic deal, but that is continuing to be tested, particularly as we know the president's also been very frustrated with this standstill that has been happening in the Strait of Hormuz. He's under a lot of pressure with oil prices hitting the highest they have been throughout this whole war yesterday. He also has a China trip coming up, really wanting to see vessels moving again through that strait.

And so we'll have to see where this leads, but, really, the Pentagon putting all of this on the president to determine when in fact he believes the ceasefire is actually violated. Pamela?

BROWN: All right. Alayna Treene, thanks so much. Wolf?

BLITZER: I want to go live right now to CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson. He's joining us from Islamabad, Pakistan.

Nic, just two days ago, President Trump said that his representatives were having what he described as very positive talks with Iran. Where do things stand today with the Trump administration saying the ceasefire holds?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. Wolf, I don't think the talks between the two sides through the mediators have really missed too much of a beat through all of this. That would be my assessment from here, from what we know and what we see and what we understand.

I think what was very, very informative of all the things that Pete Hegseth had to say today pertinent precisely to the nature of the talks and how they're viewed and how the president is really struggling to try to have talks with the moderates, where the hardline is, the IRGC are really destabilizing influence. And the real test here is going to be if the president can get into a conversation that the moderates can advance around or above or to the side of or however you want to look at it around the IRGC.

And this was very telling. This is what Pete Hegseth had said here. He said there are actions that the IRGC takes that are outside the bounds of what the negotiators would want. And he really seemed to frame this, the naval effort, the Project Freedom, as something that tests and persuades the IRGC, that they don't control the Strait of Hormuz, that they have to back down. And, of course, if that can happen, that will allow and strengthen the moderates in Tehran. And here, we talk about the foreign minister, who is sort of leading the conversations here through the mediators with the United States.

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So, it was very interesting to hear that this is a test. If the White House can do a deal, it's going to have to militarily push the IRGC to one side. Right now, I don't know if we can say that's going to happen.

BLITZER: All right. Nic Robertson in Islamabad, thank you very, very much. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf. Still ahead fighting to stand out in a crowded field. Tonight, seven contenders for California governor take the stage on CNN. What we're watching for.

BLITZER: And later, gas prices surging up another 30 cents from just a week ago. What's the chance we'll see prices jump to $5 nationwide?

Stay with us, you're in The Situation Room.

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BROWN: Happening now, seven gubernatorial candidates in California are making final preparations ahead of tonight's CNN primary debate in the Golden State. In California's primary, the top two vote-getters, regardless of political party, advance to the general election. The debate marks an inflection point in a crowded campaign that's been rocked by scandal.

The previous frontrunner, now former Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell, dropped out of the race and resigned his House seat amid allegations of sexual misconduct. Swalwell denies those claims.

His departure from the race and the lack of an endorsement from the current Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, could provide an opening for Republicans.

I want to bring in CNN Chief National Affairs Correspondent Jeff Zeleny, who joins us here in The Situation Room. Jeff, what should we be watching for in tonight's high-stakes CNN debates?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pam, this is a big debate largely because these candidates are still trying to break out of the pack. Now, don't forget, one out of every eight Americans lives in California. So, this is such a major campaign and we're less than a month away from the primary.

And because of Swalwell's dropping out of the race, there really is not a front runner. I mean, you can see the candidates there on screen. There are eight candidates. Seven candidates that will be at the debate stage, including five Democrats and two Republicans.

And that gets to a central point here. In California, we have what's called a jungle primary, if you will. People from both sides are running on the same ballot. So, that means that the top two winners in June could be two Republicans or could be two Democrats or a mix. So, that is one of the things that is kind of hanging over all this.

If Democrats are dividing their vote enough, could Republicans sort of slip in with the top two winners? Probably unlikely. President Trump has endorsed Steve Hilton in this race. He's a former Fox News host. There's also a Republican, Chad Bianco. He's the sheriff of Riverside County, and the rest are Democrats.

But keep an eye on Javier Becerra. A former secretary of Health and Human Services, he was in the Biden administration. He is trying to consolidate support among Democrats, and also Tom Steyer. He has spent more than $100 million in television ads. He is still sort of struggling to a breakthrough, but perhaps one of the other candidates will break through this.

So, so many important issues on affordability, the cost of housing homelessness, all of this is effectively a litigation of Gavin Newsom's record. He has been governor for eight years. He can't run again because of term limits. So, a lot of angst in California and tonight is a top chance for voters to sort of peruse the candidates and we'll see if there's a breakout moment for any of them.

BROWN: Is it expected that Governor Newsom will remain on the sidelines and not giving endorsement?

ZELENY: I mean, he has so far. So, it'd be hard for me to see him jumping in at this point, unless it were to look like that the top two Republicans might win the primary, which it doesn't look like now. But, look, the ballots have already gone out. So, if Newsom was going to make a move, he probably would have done it by now or very soon.

BROWN: There's a lot more politics happening across the country outside of California, we should note. Voters in Ohio and Indiana will head to the polls in their state's primaries. Why are these races so significant?

ZELENY: So, interesting. As we speak, voters in Ohio and Indiana are voting. We've talked so much about redistricting this year. It seems like a long time ago, but last December in Indiana, the Republican state senators had a question, are they going to redistrict the lines? The White House, the president was pushing them. They said, no, we're not. We're not going to redraw our lines.

So, because of that, there are seven state senators who are being aggressively primaried by the Republicans outside of the state, largely the White House and the president. The president wants to take them out. He's intently focused on these very local races. So, what it's going to show just the strength of the president. Are there any cracks in his armor in terms of voters saying this is a local race, we're not going to follow the endorsement from the president?

I mean, right next door in Ohio, a key race as well up in the Toledo area. Marcy Kaptur, the longest woman serving in Congress, she's running for her 22nd term. She'll find out who her Republican opponent is, a big competitive primary there.

And Ohio, once a swing state, had become a red state, now it's going to be front and center in this year's midterm races. So Sherrod Brown on the ballot, the Democratic race, a governor's race as well. So, our eyes are on both states today.

BROWN: Yes, we'll be watching. Jeff Zeleny, thank you so much.

ZELENY: You bet.

BROWN: Wolf?

BLITZER: I'll be watching later tonight too, and, of course, like so many millions of others.

Coming up, we'll be joined by Democratic Congressman Steve Cohen of Tennessee as his state pushes to join others, redrawing their Congressional maps before the midterm elections in November.

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BLITZER: Authorities are investigating after a man allegedly fired a gun at Secret Service agents right near the Washington Monument on Monday. The agency's deputy director says officers returned fire and wounded the suspect. They're also looking into whether he may have tried to access a White House entry point earlier in the day, not very far away.

CNN's Brian Todd has more details.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: According to the Secret Service, the shooting incident occurred roughly around 3:30 P.M. Eastern Time on Monday when the suspect, according to Matthew Quinn, deputy Secret Service director, he said the suspect was spotted near the White House complex, which is just down that way, a couple of blocks beyond those trees.

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According to Matthew Quinn, the suspect was spotted near the White House complex with what Quinn called a visual imprint of a weapon. The suspect then fled this way, coming up this way, this is 15th Street in the district, coming up toward Independence Avenue where we are here.

At this point, according to Matthew Quinn from the Secret Service, the suspect withdrew a weapon, fired at officers. The Secret Service officers fired back, engaged him, and wounded him. Also, though, according to Matthew Quinn from the Secret Service, there was a bystander who was hit in the crossfire. The bystander is a juvenile. That's all we know about the identity of the bystander, but Matthew Quinn says that person has non-life-threatening injuries.

I was separately told by an official with the Metropolitan Washington Police that the suspect -- that the bystander suffered a graze wound and has non-life-threatening injuries.

But this is where the scene ended, where the suspect was actually shot at by uniformed Secret Service officers and wounded right about there. Matthew Quinn from the Secret Service says that shortly before this incident occurred, Vice President J.D. Vance's motorcade was traveling through this intersection. Vance was in the motorcade. And I asked Matthew Quinn if this could be interpreted at all as a possible attack on the motorcade. He said no, he did not believe that was the case. But you did have a shooting here with a suspect who was identified with a weapon. He was first spotted by plain-clothed Secret Service officers near the White House complex. He fled on foot briefly, then withdrew his weapon and fired at officers, and he was hit right about this area and wounded and transported to the hospital.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

BLITZER: And there's more breaking news, the price of gas surging this morning. According to AAA, the national average price for a gallon of gas is now $4.48. That's up 30 cents in just one week.

Let's go live right now to CNN Business and Politics Correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich. Vanessa, will we see $5 gas by June?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: That is what some analysts are projecting, Wolf. But the national average, as you said, jumping 30 cents in just the last week alone, $4.48 is the national average. Look at that a week ago, $4.18, and a month ago, $4.11.

We are up about 40 percent in terms of gas prices from a year ago, and we're up 50 percent since the start of the war. Some analysts believe if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed for the next month, we could see prices jump to $4.75. But there are some analysts, Wolf, that are projecting that we could see $5 a gallon gas if the strait remains closed for another month.

Now, if you compare sort of what we've been talking about, the last time we saw $5 gas was in 2022 when the war with Russia and Ukraine broke out. If you look at this line chart, looking at 2022, you can see that, essentially, the same timeline, February is when the war started, you had gas prices climbing, and then you saw by June of 2022, that is when we saw that $5.2 cent a gallon gas. That is the last record that we've seen.

Here in 2026, we are on a similar trajectory, Wolf. Some differences, gas prices started higher in 2022, and we were coming off the pandemic, but this is a much more severe global energy shock to the entire global system, and that is why we are seeing prices rising so quickly.

And as long as we see oil, Wolf, trading above $100 a gallon, many analysts do believe we are on our way to $5 and breaking that $5.02 record that we set in 2022. Wolf?

BLITZER: And I just want to be precise, $4.48 is the national average for a gallon of gas, regular gasoline here in the United States. But in some places, it's a lot more, like California, for example, it's $6 a gallon, or even more, right?

YURKEVICH: That's right. And we are seeing higher gas prices on the West Coast, the East Coast, and in the Midwest, because there's been some refinery disruptions in the Midwest, and that has pushed prices up there. As you mentioned, $4.48, the national average across the entire United States, but we know Americans on the coast and in the Midwest are being pinched even more by those higher prices. Wolf?

BLITZER: Yes, it's getting up there.

All right, Vanessa Yurkevich reporting for us, Vanessa, thank you very, very much. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf. Just ahead here in The Situation Room, testing the ceasefire. Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth insists it is not over, but does Iran feel the same way? We're going to discuss as Tehran makes new threats over the Strait Hormuz.

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