The $2.2 trillion stimulus package President Trump signed into law Friday and the on-the-ground response to the pandemic by state and local governments is expected to dominate the Sunday talk show lineup this weekend.
The stimulus bill, signed into law by President Trump on Friday, gives $1.25 billion in direct funding for each state and billions more in indirect aid through government programs.
However, several governors from states hardest-hit by the virus — New York, California, Washington and Michigan — have sparred with the president, calling his response inadequate.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), who told Trump on Thursday to stop the “political attacks” and work on replenishing her state’s medical supplies, is booked on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D), whose state saw one of the earliest surges of the virus, is booked on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D), whose state has seen a sudden rise in cases, is booked on both ABC’s “This Week” and NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) will also appear in the Sunday news lineup this weekend. The governor will speak to Chris Wallace on Fox News’ “FOX News Sunday.”
This week the U.S. became the country with the highest amount of recorded coronavirus cases as the hospitals across the country scramble to find adequate resources, such as ventilators.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is booked on CNN’s “State of the Union” and Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, is booked on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Birx and Fauci are two of the most prominent public health officials in the White House coronavirus task force and both make regular appearances at White House briefings.
Even with the multi-trillion dollar aid package, the lasting economic effects are expected to ripple beyond the bill’s scope.
White House National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow is booked on ABC’s “This Week” and Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” while Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who is tasked with overseeing the disbursement of stimulus checks and the growing unemployment claims, is booked on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who played an active role in the stimulus package negotiations will appear on “FOX News Sunday.”
Before the president’s signing on Friday, the House first passed the $2 trillion stimulus bill earlier that day, but not without last-minute drama on the chamber floor. To pass the bill, leaders in both parties had to unite to foil an attempted blockade by Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who had driven to Washington for the vote and requested a recorded tally, which requires the participation of at least half of all sitting House members.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is booked on CNN’s “State of the Union,” and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is booked on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”
Republican Sens. Tom Cotton (Ark.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and John Kennedy (LA) — all of whom played a major role in the drafting of the aid package — are booked on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”
The pandemic also comes amid the height Democratic primary, throwing a curveball at the campaigns of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Vice President Joe Biden, who have had to adjust their campaigns to comply with recommendations from public health experts.
Biden is booked on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and Sanders is booked on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
ABC’s “This Week” — Kudlow; Edwards; former White House homeland security adviser Tom Bossert.
NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Edwards; Biden; Birx; Whitmer
CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Mnuchin; Scott Gottlieb, a former Food and Drug Administration commissioner; Dr. David Heymann, who led the World Health Organization’s response to the SARS outbreak; Dr. Gianrico Farrugia, president and CEO, Mayo Clinic
CNN’s “State of the Union” — Pelosi; Fauci; Sanders; New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio; Inslee; Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R), and Whitmer.
Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures” — McCarthy; Kudlow; Cotton; Graham ; Kennedy
FOX News Sunday: Mnuchin, Hogan, Dr. Thomas Inglesby, Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine // Director of the Center for Health Security