Recess to wrap up with hot-button shows

An array of issues confronting Congress and the Obama administration will be on display during the Sunday morning talk show circuit, foreshadowing the week to come.

ABC’s “This Week” will see a showdown between White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), who are likely to run down a number of legislative priorities and Republican responses coming in the next few weeks.

{mosads}While the ABC program is sure to touch on a variety of issues, other networks’ broadcasts will focus more specifically on issues and controversies that have popped up over recess and are likely to carry over into next week.

“Fox News Sunday” will play host to former Bush administration CIA Director Michael Hayden, who is certain to face questions about his agency’s interrogation practices in the light of the Obama administration’s releasing of memos on those practices. Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), two critics of the use of torture in interrogation, should also lend insight into the congressional response to those memos and the Obama administration’s decision not to prosecute officials who directed harsh interrogations.

On “Meet the Press,” National Economic Council Chairman Lawrence Summers will preview the administration’s response to banks who want to return bailout funds, as well as deliver some insight into the forthcoming release of the results of stress tests conducted on financial institutions. Summers will broadcast live from the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago.

The potential return of the assault weapons ban is likely to dominate “Face the Nation” on CBS, with National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre appearing along with gun control advocate Gov. Ed Rendell (D-Pa.). White House senior adviser David Axelrod will also preview the administration’s latest initiatives.

On CNN, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is sure to face questions about her agency’s memo warning of domestic security threats from “right-wing extremists.” Napolitano will also face questions on border security and the drug war in Mexico as President Obama wraps up his meetings with Latin and South American leaders this weekend.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) is also set to appear on CNN, where she’ll likely address her state’s still ongoing Senate race, which has left her as Minnesota’s lone senator since early January. New York Gov. David Paterson (D) will also get the show’s “last word,” in which he is expected to discuss his initiative to legalize gay marriage in New York.