Sunday shows preview: Sparks fly in debt ceiling negotiations; Title 42 expiration inches closer

The high-stakes negotiations to increase the debt ceiling before the country defaults on its debt, as well as the upcoming expiration of Title 42, are likely to dominate the Sunday talk show circuit this weekend.

Lawmakers have until June, just under four weeks, to raise the debt ceiling, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Monday. As early as June 1, the U.S. will have exhausted the extraordinary measures currently in place and will no longer be able to pay all of its outstanding obligations, she explained.

Yellen, who is set to join ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, had previously placed the drop-dead date in early June but adjusted it earlier in the face of recent tax revenues.

Hours after Yellen’s announcement, President Biden invited Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and other congressional leaders to a meeting at the White House next week to discuss the debt ceiling.

Biden and McCarthy have so far remained at an impasse on negotiations, as the president insists on a “clean” debt ceiling increase and the House GOP maintains that a debt limit increase must be accompanied by spending cuts.

Amid the partisan logjam, House Democrats unveiled a plan on Tuesday that would allow them to bring alternate legislation to the floor without McCarthy’s approval. Using an obscure mechanism known as a discharge petition, members can force action on a bill if it receives the backing of a majority in the chamber.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who will be joining NBC’s “Meet the Press” this weekend, outlined the strategy to his fellow Democrats in a letter on Tuesday.

“A dangerous default is not an option,” Jeffries wrote. “Making sure that America pays its bills — and not the extreme ransom note demanded by Republicans — is the only responsible course of action.” 

Biden will sit down with McCarthy and Jeffries, as well as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), on Tuesday. 

McConnell, who has mostly stayed out of the debt ceiling debate, has reportedly signed onto a letter to Schumer vowing not to back “any bill that raises the debt ceiling without substantive spending and budget reforms.”

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who is leading the effort on the letter, will make an appearance on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” this weekend.

The upcoming expiration of Title 42 will likely also be a topic of discussion on the Sunday shows. The federal rule, which allows for the rapid expulsion of asylum seekers, is set to expire on Thursday as the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration officially ends.

In anticipation of an expected surge in migrants, the Biden administration is temporarily deploying 1,500 active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border.

“I’ve asked this Congress for help in terms of what they need at the border,” Biden said of his decision in an interview on Friday. “They need more agents. They need more people to clear people. They need more action.”

He also emphasized that the troops will be “there to free up the border agents that need to be on the border,” not to enforce the law.

Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) introduced a bipartisan bill on Thursday to extend Biden’s authority to expel migrants without any tie to a public health emergency, as is required by Title 42.

“Everyone here in Arizona knows we are not prepared,” Sinema told CBS’ Margaret Brennan in an interview for this weekend’s “Face the Nation.” 

“The Biden administration had two years to prepare for this and did not do so,” she added. “And our state is going to bear the brunt. And migrants will be in crisis as soon as next week. It will be a humanitarian crisis because we are not prepared.”

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who has faced heavy criticism over his handling of the border, will also make an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” 

Mayorkas emphasized during a visit to the southern border this week that the Biden administration is prepared for the end of Title 42.

“The border is not open, it has not been open and it will not be open subsequent to May 11,” Mayorkas said, according to NBC News.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), a frequent critic of the Biden administration’s border policies, will also join “Fox News Sunday” this weekend.

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

ABC’s “This Week” — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen; Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.)

NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.); former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican presidential candidate

CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas; Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.); Gov. Roy Cooper (D-N.C.); Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.)

CNN’s “State of the Union” — Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.); Reps. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), Jim Himes (D-Conn.) and Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.)

“Fox News Sunday” — Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas); Reps. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) and Henry Cuellar (D-Texas)

Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” — Reps. James Comer (R-Ky.) and Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas); Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah); Stephen Miller, former White House senior advisor and president of America First Legal