Sunday shows preview: Speaker’s gavel still up for grabs; Israel-Hamas war drags on

The developing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and the House GOP’s attempts to pick a third Speaker candidate will likely take the spotlight in Sunday news shows this weekend.

Israel has increased its continuous bombardment of Gaza in recent days amid preparations for an expected ground invasion of the enclave. The conflict escalated earlier this month following a Hamas surprise attack that killed over 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians.

Responding airstrikes have killed more than 4,300 Palestinians, including more than 1,700 children, according to the Hamas-led Gaza Health Ministry.

President Biden visited Israel on Wednesday to reiterate U.S. support for the country amid the conflict. Biden also announced a $100 million humanitarian aid deal for Gaza civilians, which has become a critical concern among international aid groups as the territory lacks power, fuel and food supplies.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who will headline NBC’s “Meet the Press” and CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday, was in Israel on Monday, just before Biden’s visit.

“We unequivocally condemn the appalling attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israel,” Blinken said at the outset of the conflict. “We stand in solidarity with the government and people of Israel and extend our condolences for the Israeli lives lost in these attacks.”

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will be on ABC’s “This Week.” In response to the Hamas attacks, the U.S. mobilized military assets in the region including moving a carrier group near Israel last week.

The first humanitarian aid convoy entered Gaza on Saturday morning, after days of negotiations between Israel, the U.S. and Egypt. Israel has bombed Gaza’s only border crossing with Egypt, preventing aid from entering the territory.

Humanitarian group leaders have described the situation in Gaza as dire, with hospitals lacking medical supplies, water and power. Over a million people in Gaza, about half of the territory’s population, have been displaced in the conflict so far.

“In fact, Gaza is being strangled and it seems the world right now has lost its humanity,” said Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the East on Monday. “If we look at the issue of water, we all know water is life. Gaza is running out of water and Gaza is running out of life.”

“Soon, I believe, with this there will be no food or medicine either,” continued Lazzarini, who will be on “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

But aid leaders have also said the convoys entering Gaza now aren’t enough. 

“The situation is catastrophic in Gaza,” the head of the U.N.’s World Food Program, Cindy McCain, told The Associated Press. “We need many, many, many more trucks and a continual flow of aid,” she said, adding that some 400 trucks were entering Gaza daily before the war.

McCain will be on “This Week.”

Biden unveiled a sweeping $100 billion budget request on Friday, including $14 billion in aid for Israel. That package also included supplements for the war effort in Ukraine, defense for Taiwan and border security.

But that package faces hurdles to get through Congress, where the House remains without a Speaker. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) — who will appear on “Face the Nation” and “Fox News Sunday” — said this week that he’s open to passing the deal.

“Above and beyond the demands of our work on full-year appropriations, a number of serious challenges to the U.S. national security require the Senate’s urgent attention,” McConnell said in a statement on Friday.  

“The moment demands American leadership, which will require the Senate’s decisive action,” he said. “After reviewing the president’s request, we must produce our own supplemental legislation that meets the demonstrated needs of our national security.”

In the House, Republicans will meet Monday evening to pick another Speaker-designee after the previous two — Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) — failed to garner 217 votes of support. 

Jordan failed three votes in the previous week, with 25 Republicans voting against him in the third and final attempt Friday. After that vote, Jordan lost a closed-door secret ballot officially ending his candidacy.

Nine congressmen have launched campaigns for the Speakership or have signaled they may, creating a chaotic field a job which has laid vacant for nearly three weeks.

Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will feature on “Meet the Press.” He gave Jordan’s nominating speech before the Friday vote, but later said the GOP caucus is in a “very bad place” with no clear leading candidate for the job.

Prominent Jordan critic former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) will appear on both “Face the Nation” and “State of the Union” on Sunday. She predicted that Jordan’s candidacy would fail before the first vote.

“If Rs nominate Jordan to be Speaker, they will be abandoning the Constitution. They’ll lose the House majority and they’ll deserve to,” Cheney wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, last week.

The deadlocked Congress has led Democrats to call on moderate Republicans to work with them on a bipartisan leadership agreement. Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) signaled that such an agreement may be necessary in an interview last week before Jordan’s votes.

“I think Jim Jordan will be an excellent Speaker. I think he’ll be able to get to 217. If not, we have other leaders in the House,” he said. “And certainly, if there is a need if the radical, you know, almost just handful of people in the Republican side, make it unable … to be able to return to general work on the House, then I think obviously, there will be a deal [that] will have to be done.”

Turner will be back on the Sunday shows this week, appearing on “State of the Union.”

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R), who also faced a fractured GOP caucus while he was in office in the 1990s, will be on “Fox News Sunday.”

A pair of 2024 GOP presidential candidates will also feature on the Sunday shows, with Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) taking on “This Week” and former Vice President Mike Pence on “Meet the Press.”

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

ABC’s “This Week” — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin; Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.); Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas); Cindy McCain, executive director of the United Nations World Food Program.

NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Secretary of State Antony Blinken; Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.); former Vice President Mike Pence.

CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Blinken; Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.); former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.); Philippe Lazzarini, head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.

CNN’s “State of the Union” — Cheney; Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio).

“Fox News Sunday” — McConnell; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga).

Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures”  — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas); John Ratcliffe, former director of national intelligence; Retired U.S. Army Gen. Anthony Tata.