Sunday shows preview: Iran-Hormuz deal hangs in balance; Trump, Dems look to midterms
The Hill · C · trust 12/100
Comments: by Sarah Davis - 08/08/26 5:47 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Sarah Davis - 08/08/26 5:47 PM ET Comments: Link copied NOW PLAYING Vice President JD Vance said on Saturday that there has been “some progress over the last few days” in negotiations between Iran and Oman over reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
This critical trading passage has been a key sticking point in the negotiations to end this months-long conflict.
However, Vance stressed to Fox News’s Kayleigh McEnany that the war “is not over.”
“We’re in the middle of the game,” he said. “We’re applying a whole host of tools, diplomatic, economic, military tools, to ensure that we get the best outcome for the American people.”
Democrats have been critical of the Trump administration’s handling of these ongoing negotiations.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who sits on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, accused President Trump of “gaslighting” the American public “about the state of Iran negotiations” in a Monday social media post .
Murphy will join NBC News’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. Additionally, former Trump Defense Secretary Mark Esper will join ABC News’s “This Week” to discuss these ongoing negotiations.
The Trump administration has pushed back this week against affordability concerns and declining presidential approval ratings amid this conflict. The price of crude oil has skyrocketed during the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and placed a strain on global energy markets.
In another blow to the White House’s economic platform, the Bureau of Labor Statistics shared in a Friday report that the U.S. lost 23,000 jobs and employment dipped to 4.1 percent last month. Economists had expected American employers to add 83,000 jobs and for the jobless rate to hold steady at 4.2 percent last month.
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett defended the administration’s economic record in comments to reporters following this report, saying the “momentum in the economy continues to be strong.” Trump’s top economic adviser pointed to cuts in government jobs and the end of seasonal jobs following the World Cup.
Hassett will join CNN’s “State of the Union” and Fox News’s “Fox News Sunday.”
The president is defending his economic record at a critical time ahead of the midterm elections, where affordability is expected to be a key issue for voters.
Republicans raised alarm bells after populist candidate Abdul El-Sayed (D) narrowly secured the Democratic Party’s nomination in Michigan’s Senate race this week, outcompeting the establishment-backed candidate, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.).
Trump slammed El-Sayed as a “ man of hate ” during a speech in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
The Democratic nominee will join “State of the Union” and “Meet the Press” on Sunday to discuss his recent victory and the path to the November election.
Additionally, Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R) will appear on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures” following her win in the state’s Republican gubernatorial primary this week. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee in the Texas Senate race, will also join the Sunday program.
Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters will appear on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday.”
Early Saturday morning, nearly every Senate Republican voted to confirm Attorney General Todd Blanche. All Democrats and GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine) opposed his nomination.
The vote total was 50-49, and it followed a last-minute announcement from GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy (La.) that he would support Blanche’s permanent appointment. The Republican senator has broken with the Trump administration after the president successfully endorsed a challenger in his reelection race earlier this year.
In a floor speech on Friday afternoon, Cassidy said he would vote to confirm Blanche, despite concerns about his leadership at the department as acting attorney general.
“All considered, I will vote for Mr. Blanche. I will be criticized for this vote. What’s new,” Cassidy said in his floor remarks.
The Louisiana Republican will join CBS News’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
In other congressional news, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs voted on Thursday to refer former chief White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci to be held in contempt for refusing to answer questions before the Senate panel last week.
Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment rights 111 times during this congressional hearing, during which Republican senators pressed him about his leadership of the U.S.’s COVID-19 pandemic response.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the committee’s chair, said in a social media post on Thursday afternoon that the committee’s criminal referral was “hand delivered” to the Justice Department.
Additionally, several GOP lawmakers have called on Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) to step down and suspend his re-election campaign following allegations of domestic abuse against the Republican lawmaker by his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, who is also the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio).
Miller has denied allegations that he threw scalding hot water at his ex-wife, held a gun to her head and broke their daughter’s collarbone .
Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) expressed his support for the House Ethics Committee’s investigation into these claims and said in a statement shared on social media that “any member found to have committed domestic violence should resign from Congress immediately.”
“I believe Max would be making the right decision to step aside as a candidate and resign from Congress to focus on what…
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