Sunday shows preview: US reels after New Year's attacks; 119th Congress hits ground running

The U.S. is reeling from a pair of New Year’s Day attacks in Nevada and Louisiana that have taken multiple lives and injured dozens. 

Authorities said the suspect in the New Orleans terror attack, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, acted alone when he plowed a rented Ford pickup into a crowd, killing at least 14 people and injuring dozens more. Hours later in Las Vegas, Matthew Livelsberger, a Green Beret, died in a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded in front of the Trump Hotel. The vehicle had fireworks and gas canisters while Livelsberger, according to law enforcement, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound right before the blast went off. 

In the nation’s capital, the 119th Congress hit the ground running. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was reelected to the highest post in the lower chamber in a lengthy first-round vote Friday afternoon. The Senate, which gavelled in on Friday, was less contentious as Vice President Harris swore in new chamber members. The new Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) already made a vow, contending he would make sure to preserve the Senate filibuster. The body’s oldest and longest-serving senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) was sworn in as president pro tempore. 

All topics are likely to be discussed on this week’s Sunday shows. 

Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said during an interview that it is “not fair” to state that New Orleans ignored the bulletin and other memos pointing to increased risks of attackers using cars to inflict harm on bystanders. Mayorkas is scheduled to appear on ABC’s “This Week” where he will likely discuss ways the DHS is preparing for another fatal attack and possibly provide new updates related to the Bourbon Street incident. 

Thune, who is taking over from Republican leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), already vowed to preserve the legislative filibuster, saying the rule “has perhaps the greatest impact in preserving the Founders’ vision of the Senate.” The South Dakota Republican also said that extending President-elect Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, border security, deregulation and defense spending will be the top priorities for Republicans in the upper chamber. Thune will be on NBC’s “Meet the Press” where he will likely discuss the Senate’s path to enacting Trump’s agenda in 2025 and share more about his working relationship with the newly-reelected Speaker Johnson. 

Johnson had a bumpy path back to the gavel as Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) refused to back the Louisiana lawmaker during the roll call vote while Reps. Keith Self (R-Texas) and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) opted to vote for other members also before ultimately flipping their votes after speaking with Trump, who endorsed Johnson, over the phone on Friday. Johnson is set to appear on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures where he will likely discuss the GOP’s plan to implement Trump’s agenda in the House and how he plans to work with some House Freedom Caucus members who outlined demands for him following the successful reelection. 

Trump’s incoming “border czar” Tom Homan said this week that the incoming administration needs to pay close attention to potential radicals and extremists in various agencies, including the U.S. military, following the two attacks in Las Vegas and New Orleans. Homan is slated to be on CBS’ “Face the Nation” where he will likely discuss the Trump’s administration plans for handling the U.S.-Mexico border. 

Here’s the full list of appearances on this week’s Sunday talk shows:

NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday”: Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas).

ABC’s “This Week”: Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas; Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas; Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health.

NBC’s “Meet the Press”: Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Adam Schiff, D-Calif.

CNN’s “State of the Union”: Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.; Reps. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., Riley Moore, R-W.Va., and Adam Gray, D-Calif.

CBS’ “Face the Nation”: Thune; Reps. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Mike Turner, R-Ohio, and Jim Himes, D-Conn.; Tom Homan, the incoming Trump administration’s “border czar.”

Fox News’s “Fox News Sunday”: Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.); Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.).

Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures”: Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.); Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.); Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.); Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla); Editor-In-Chief of “The Federalist” Mollie Hemingway.