Sunday shows preview: 2024 comes into focus; abortion access hangs in the balance in post-Roe era

The ever-looming 2024 election and the ongoing legal battle over access to a widely used abortion pill are likely to dominate the Sunday talk show circuit this weekend.

As several Republicans inch closer to making decisions on potential presidential bids, the 2024 GOP field is beginning to take shape. 

While former President Trump remains the clear frontrunner for the Republican nomination, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson have all officially launched competing bids, albeit with limited success in the polls.

Hutchinson, who has sought to separate himself from the rest of the pack as an anti-Trump candidate, is set to join “Fox News Sunday” this weekend. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu will also make an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” as he continues to tease a potential 2024 bid.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who has hinted that his decision on a potential 2024 run would come in a matter of weeks, is set to join CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

Pence has recently taken several swings at Trump without explicitly naming his old boss, criticizing those who praise Chinese leader Xi Jinping and urging the GOP to “resist the politics of personality.”

Even as multiple Republicans line up to challenge the former president, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) continues to poll the strongest behind Trump, despite having yet to announce a bid.

On the other side of the aisle, President Biden appears to be preparing to launch his reelection campaign. The announcement, which could come as soon as Tuesday, has been widely expected given the president’s repeated suggestions that he planned to run again.

The ongoing legal battle over mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortions, is also likely to be a topic of discussion on the Sunday shows this weekend, after the Supreme Court on Friday temporarily blocked restrictions on the drug from going into effect.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who is set to appear on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, joined several of her Democratic colleagues last week in urging the FDA to ignore the initial ruling from a federal judge in Texas that suspended mifepristone’s approval.

Mace has been an outspoken critic of strict anti-abortion laws and proposals that lack exceptions for rape, describing some of her party’s views on the issue as “extreme.”

“We’ve got some extreme views on this issue, but 90 percent of America is somewhere in the middle,” she told CNN last week. “And I think that that 90 percent would be okay with listening to the FDA rather than a judge who used an old law that was determined unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.”

With the Supreme Court’s decision on Friday, the lower court ruling on the abortion pill will remain on hold while the Biden administration’s appeal proceeds. Mace, as well as Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), are set to discuss the high court’s decision with ABC’s “This Week.”

Below is the full list of guests scheduled to appear on this week’s Sunday talk shows:

ABC’s “This Week” — Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.); Reps. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.); Jason Armstrong, police chief in Apex, N.C.; Allison Anderman, senior counsel and director of local policy, Giffords Law Center

NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Gov. Chris Sununu (R-N.H.); Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)

CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Former Vice President Mike Pence; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas; Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.)

CNN’ “State of the Union” — Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)

“Fox News Sunday” — Former Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-Ark.); Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.)

Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.); Reps. James Comer (R-Ky.) and Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.); Jonathan D.T. Ward, author of “The Decisive Decade;” Gordon Chang, author of “The Great U.S.-China Tech War”