Sunday shows preview: Trump transition slowly begins; Israel-Hezbollah's rocky ceasefire

President-elect Trump’s transition is slowly beginning, as the incoming president has announced more appointees for his upcoming second administration in the past week. In the Middle East, the White House and France brokered a ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, but the temporary armistice is off to a rocky start as each side has accused the other of violating the terms. 

Both topics are likely to get mentioned on this week’s Sunday talk shows. 

On Saturday morning, Israeli fighter jets hit alleged Hezbollah weapons smuggling sites close to the border of Syria and Lebanon, with Jewish State officials alleging Hezbollah violated the agreement. The attack came just as Syrian rebels continued their advancements against President Bashar al-Assad and reached deep inside the city of Aleppo. 

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will nearly perform the “full Ginsberg” by sitting down for four Sunday shows this weekend. He will likely address all of the topics related to the Middle East as he will appear on ABC’s “This Week,” NBC’s “Meet the Press,” CNN’s “State of the Union” and CBS’ “Face the Nation.” 

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is set to appear on “Fox News Sunday,” where she will likely discuss the latest developments in the Middle East, Trump’s transition picks and the latest news from the Russia-Ukraine war. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview on Friday that NATO welcoming Ukraine into the military alliance could prevent the “hot stage” of the war while Russia would temporarily keep the territories it took. But earlier this week, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Ukraine is not in a strong enough position to discuss ending the conflict. 

The race to determine the next chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is heating up with New York State Sen. James Skoufis (D) launching his bid on Saturday. Skoufis joins Minnesota Democratic Party chair Ken Martin and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley in a contest to replace current head Jaime Harrison. Other names have been tossed around, including Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel and political strategist Chuck Rocha. 

North Carolina’s Governor-elect Josh Stein (D) will be on ABC’s “This Week” where he will likely discuss which direction the party needs to go following the 2024 presidential election where Democrats lost the White House, Senate and failed to capture the majority in the lower chamber. Stein, who defeated controversial Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) in a battleground state, may also discuss the latest developments in the DNC chair race. 

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) was one of several Connecticut Democrats who received bomb threats targeting their homes on Thanksgiving Day. In all instances, law enforcement did not find any bomb near their residences. The incident occurred just a day after nearly a dozen of Trump’s appointees and nominees were similarly targeted. Murphy is set to appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press where he will likely discuss the latest developments regarding those incidents. 

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

NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday”: NewsNation Political Contributor Mick Mulvaney, former Chair of the SEC Christopher Cox and author Amity Shlaes. 

ABC’s “This Week”: National security adviser Jake Sullivan; Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.); North Carolina Gov.-elect Josh Stein (D).

NBC’s “Meet the Press”: Sullivan; Sens. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)

CNN’s “State of the Union”: Sullivan; Reps. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), and Jamie Raskin (D-Md).

CBS’ “Face the Nation”: Sullivan; Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)

“Fox News Sunday”: Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.); OpenAI CEO Sam Altman; former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Sunday Morning Futures: Sen Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.); FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr; Rep Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) and TPUSA Founder Charlie Kirk.