Sunday shows preview: Biden transition, COVID-19 spike in spotlight

President-elect Joe Biden’s White House transition and an alarming spike in COVID-19 cases across the country are expected to dominate the Sunday talk show circuit this weekend.

Biden’s victory in the presidential race, in which he’s projected to win 306 Electoral College votes, has not been certified by the General Services Administration (GSA), a legal requirement that would allow transition officials to receive classified information and work with administration staffers.

Virtually every Democrat and a small but growing number of Republicans have said the GSA should “ascertain” Biden as the president-elect, saying doing so could give him information to be better prepared to tackle national security threats and the distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine once he enters the White House.

Several transition officials will hit the Sunday shows, including incoming White House chief of staff Ron Klain on ABC’s “This Week,” incoming adviser Cedric Richmond on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” transition adviser Symone Sanders on CBS’s “Face the Nation” and transition adviser Jen Psaki on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

The shows are also anticipated to tackle the latest surge in coronavirus cases across the country.

The number of confirmed cases in the U.S. hit 12 million Saturday, and the weekly average of new cases has exceeded 100,000 for the past two weeks, with daily case counts routinely approaching 200,000. 

The virus has spread more quickly in recent days than in past weeks, with the country taking more than two weeks to go from 8 million to 9 million cases, 10 days to go from 9 million to 10 million cases and six days to go from 10 million to 11 million cases. 

However, Congress has still floundered in agreeing on the topline spending figures for another coronavirus stimulus package, and President Trump in recent days has publicly put more focus on his fight to overturn the election results than on efforts to combat the virus.

Among the few promising signs were studies released this week showing that two vaccine candidates, from Pfizer and Moderna, are more than 90 percent effective.

Here is the full list of guests on the Sunday shows this week:

ABC’s “This Week” — Klain; Dr. Moncef Slaoui, head of the government’s coronavirus vaccine effort

NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Richmond; Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.); Slaoui

CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; H.R. McMaster, former national security adviser; CVS CEO Larry Merlo; Sanders

CNN’s “State of the Union” — Slaoui; Psaki; Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R); John Bolton, former national security adviser to Trump

“Fox News Sunday” — Dr. Tom Inglesby, director of the Center for Health Security at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Kate Bedingfield, Biden deputy campaign manager

“Sunday Morning Futures” — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.); Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.); Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.); Alan Dershowitz, Harvard Law Professor Emeritus 

“America This Week With Eric Bolling” — Sen Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.); Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro; former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon; Jim Carroll, Director of The Office Of National Drug Policy; Sharyl Attkisson, writer