Sunday Shows preview: GOP leaders under spotlight after last-minute deal

Members of the Republican House leadership will try to explain what went wrong with their efforts to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) during this week’s Sunday shows.

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) leads the charge with an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” He’ll address the chaos in Washington, D.C. Friday evening, during which Congress narrowly avoided a partial government shutdown by funding DHS for one week.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will give his take on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” House Minority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) called McCarthy “a coward” during a recent debate over DHS funding specifics. Hoyer later apologized.

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) will appear on “Fox News Sunday.” Scalise has been crucial in attempts to gain support for DHS funding. He, as well as Boehner, suffered a major embarrassment earlier on Friday when a three-week funding measure was defeated, with more than 50 GOP lawmakers defecting.

{mosads}For many of the most conservative Republicans, the key issue is President Obama’s executive actions on immigration, which would — among other things — lift the threat of deportation from up to five million illegal immigrants.

Some GOP members would not support a continuing resolution (CR) without riders defunding Obama’s immigration decisions.

Several potential GOP 2016 presidential hopefuls may also analyze the fallout during their own Sunday show appearances. 

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), who has been attracting a lot of positive attention from conservatives recently, is scheduled for a “Fox News Sunday” appearance.

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who has been widely spoken about as a possible candidate, will appear alongside McCarthy and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) on “Meet the Press.” 

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R), who ran in 2008 and may do so again, will join Boehner and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on “Face the Nation.”

Feinstein will also appear on CNN’s “State of the Union.” She’ll join former Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas), another likely GOP 2016 hopeful, and Michael Oren, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel.

Secretary of State John Kerry rounds out the Sunday news schedule with a stop on ABC’s “This Week.” He’ll address Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress next Tuesday, plus the identity of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq terrorist “Jihadi John.”