Sunday shows preview: Advocates, lawmakers push for police reform after Chauvin verdict, Ma’Khia Bryant’s death

The push for criminal justice reform is anticipated to dominate the Sunday talk show circuit this weekend as activists and lawmakers make appearances advocating for legislation to be passed on Capitol Hill. 

Police brutality was pushed to the forefront of the national conversation this week after a jury convicted former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin of second-degree murder and two other charges in the death of George Floyd last May. 

The same day that Chauvin was convicted, an officer in Columbus, Ohio, shot and killed 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant. Body camera footage appeared to show Bryant lunging at another person in body camera footage released this week. The officer, Nicholas Reardon, said that Bryant was holding a knife as she lunged. 

Activists are appearing on a slate of talk shows this Sunday, including Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) on ABC’s “This Week” and “Fox News Sunday.” 

The appearances come amid Democrats’ broader push for the Senate to take up and pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which has already been approved in the House, but faces hurdles in the upper chamber. 

The legislation would prohibit racial profiling at every level of law enforcement; ban chokeholds, carotid holds and no-knock warrants; institute a national police misconduct registry; and overhaul legal protections currently afforded to law enforcement known as qualified immunity.

Guests are also expected to discuss ongoing congressional negotiations on an infrastructure package. President Biden and Democrats have put forward a roughly $2.3 trillion package, while Republicans have put forward a proposal under $600 billion. 

Democrats are divided over the offer, with some calling it a legitimate starting point for negotiations and others calling it too small. 

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who is leading the Republican efforts on infrastructure, are will appear on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Below is the full list of guests on this Sunday’s shows.

ABC’s “This Week” — Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.); Bass.

NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.); Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison; Keith Mayes, associate professor of African American and African studies at the University of Minnesota; Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health.

CBS’s “Face the Nation” — Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio); Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.); Ifill; Houston Police Chief Troy Finner. 

CNN’s “State of the Union” — Vice President Kamala Harris; Capito; Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).

“Fox News Sunday” — Bass; Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.); Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). 

Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” — Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.); Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron (R); Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio); James O’Keefe, Founder of Project Veritas.