Sunday shows preview: Biden amps up involvement in talks amid tug-of-war over infrastructure

President Biden’s increased involvement in talks regarding two infrastructure bills is expected to dominate Sunday talk shows as progressives and moderates continue to clash over several aspects of the legislation. 

Biden met with congressional Democrats Friday in a 40-minute, closed-door meeting to discuss the issues the groups have with the bills.  

Democratic moderates hoped to get a $1.2 trillion, bipartisan bill focused on funding “traditional” infrastructure passed this week in the House. The bill was already passed in the Senate earlier this year. 

However, progressives in the House threatened to tank the bill if a larger, $3.5 trillion social spending package did not get support from moderate Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) in the upper chamber in order for it to pass in the Senate. 

During the meeting the president called for unity, and broke the news to centrists that the vote on the bipartisan package would not occur Friday. However, the president said that members of the liberal faction in the Democratic party needed to compromise with centrists as well. 

Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) has previously urged progressives to vote against the bipartisan infrastructure package if it is not paired with the reconciliation package. 

To do so would be “in violation of an agreement that was reached within the Democratic Caucus in Congress,” Sanders, the chair of the Senate Budget Committee has said. 

Sanders will make an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” and NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. 

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, has also pushed to vote on the reconciliation bill before the bipartisan infrastructure bill.

Jayapal said Friday that Biden was “very clear the two are tied together.”

Jayapal will be on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Sunday. 

The infrastructure bill comes at a time when the U.S. hit a grim milestone of 700,000 COVID-19 deaths.

The milestone was propelled in part due to the highly infectious delta variant. COVID-19 cases have continued to surge in the nation, though recent data indicates that new cases are on the decline.

Chief White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci, who is set to appear on CNN’s “State of the Union” and ABC’s “This Week,” has continued to push for vaccines as a way to end the pandemic. 

On Thursday, Fauci said the new trial results for a Merck pill that could treat COVID-19 are “impressive.”

Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb also applauded the results from Merck, saying the pill could be a “game-changer.”

“This is a phenomenal result, I mean this is a profound game-changer to have an oral pill that had this kind of effect,” former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told CNBC.

Gottlieb will appear on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday.

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

ABC’s “This Week” —  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.); Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases..

NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Sanders.

CBS’s “Face the Nation” — Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.); Gov. Jim Justice, (R-W.Va.); Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former Food and Drug Administration commissioner.

CNN’s “State of the Union” — Fauci; Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.); Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.).

“Fox News Sunday” —  Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.); Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.); White House adviser Cedric Richmond. 

Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” — House Minority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA); Former Chief of Staff for the Department of Defense Kash Patel; Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.); political commentator Christian Walker; Founder of All Seasons Press Louise Burke.