Sunday shows preview: Trump’s DOJ keeps close eye on election results; Last-minute campaigning heats up

With less than two weeks to go before the midterms, the Trump administration is ramping up its warnings about voter fraud and is not ruling out the prospect of weighing in on states’ election certification efforts.

The Justice Department (DOJ) reportedly sent letters Friday to California election officials, directing them to identify potential noncitizens on the state’s voter rolls or “risk significant federal scrutiny.”

This move followed the DOJ’s lawsuit filed last week against California after state and local officials refused to cross-reference 20,000 names on its voter rolls with a list of individuals the Department of Homeland Security flagged over citizenship status concerns.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) accused President Trump at a campaign event in New Hampshire on Sunday of “trying to quite literally rig the election.”

“He’s trying to get our voting rolls,” he said. “You can’t make this stuff up.”

On Thursday, Attorney General Todd Blanche did not rule out intervening in states’ midterm election certification processes, citing the need to do so in a potential “doomsday scenario” when reporters asked him about the matter.

The attorney general added the DOJ has no intention “to improperly interfere with elections or the state confirmation process or certification process.”

A day later, the DOJ sued to block Alaska from verifying its election results, arguing the fact two candidates in the state’s Senate race share the same name could taint the results. Democrats were quick to slam this move as an attempt from the Trump administration to control the outcome of the competition between incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) and former Rep. Mary Peltola (D).

Blanche will join CBS News’s “Face the Nation” and CNN “State of the Union” Sunday, while California Sen. Adam Schiff (D) will appear on NBC News’s “Meet the Press.”

Decision Desk HQ, a nonpartisan election handicapper, gives Democrats an 80 percent chance of retaking control of the House this November as of Saturday. But it predicts a tighter fight for the Senate, with DDHQ giving the party having a 56 percent likelihood of gaining the majority in the upper chamber.

Democrats are already putting plans in place for their anticipated takeover of Congress and weighing how they would confront the Trump administration if given back the majority.

Trump told reporters Friday he would “veto everything” if the Democrats regained control of the legislature.

“You veto, veto, veto, and then they come and they say, ‘How do we get it done?’ And you make a deal,” the president said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who has signaled he would not step down from leading Republicans in the lower chamber should his party lose its majority, will appear on Fox News’s “Fox News Sunday.”

Several candidates running in closely watched battleground midterm races are also expected to make an appearance on Sunday broadcasts.

Iowa Senate candidates Rep. Ashley Hinson (R) and state Rep. Josh Turek (D) will both appear on ABC News’s “This Week” on Sunday. GOP Michigan Senate nominee Mike Rogers will join “Meet the Press,” while Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate, state Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D), will appear on “Face the Nation.”

Though Ohio’s gubernatorial candidates are not slated to appear on any Sunday talk shows, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy’s controversial campaign ad featuring Democratic opponent Amy Acton’s mother may also pop up as a topic of conversation on these broadcasts — as the commercial sparked a media firestorm throughout the week.

DDHQ lists the race between Ramaswamy and Acton as leaning in the Democrat’s favor by around four points. The Ohio Senate race places former Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, around the same distance ahead of Republican incumbent Sen. Jon Husted.

Fuel shortages brought on by the ongoing Iran war continue to strain global energy supplies and ramp up pressure on the Trump administration to address rising costs at the pump ahead of the midterm elections.

On Thursday, the president signed an executive order aimed at lowering mortgage payments amid rising borrowing costs .

The order directs the Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte to form a pilot program to cancel insurance premiums for government-backed mortgages once a borrower meets certain requirements. It also establishes a task force to lower home construction costs .

Additionally, the White House announced Friday it was lifting tariffs on certain Canadian goods after these economic policies faced bipartisan criticism ahead of Nov. 3.

The New York Times reported Wednesday American and Israeli militaries had developed plans for strikes after the midterm elections. The two countries launched initial strikes in this conflict on Feb. 28. Meanwhile, a Friday U.S. intelligence memo signaled Iranian plots to attack and kill Americans abroad had reached “advanced stages.”

In other international news, Ukrainian officials announced Saturday Starshield satellite services were back up to normal speeds in the country after a controversial slowdown, reportedly ordered by billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk, impacted their defense systems against Russia.

In a statement shared on social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked “all Americans” and partners, such as Congress, the State Department and Trump.

“The speeds are now where they need to be,” Zelensky said. “The restoration began overnight, and by this morning, speeds were already sufficient. This matters: for our frontline logistics, for defending Ukraine against jet-powered ‘shaheds.’”

Earlier this week, Russia indicated it was open to resuming trilateral negotiations with Kyiv and Washington. The White House also announced Friday first lady Melania Trump had secured a localized ceasefire deal in a city on the Russia-Ukraine border.

Fox News’s senior strategic analyst, retired Gen. Jack Keane, will appear on the network’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”

See the full list of guests on the Sunday morning news shows below:

NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday”: Texas Libertarian Senate candidate Ted Brown, political commentator George Will

CBS News’s “Face the Nation”: Attorney General Todd Blanche, Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Texas state Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D)

CNN’s “State of the Union”: Attorney General Todd Blanche, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), Michigan Rep. Haley Stevens (D)

Fox News’s “Fox News Sunday”: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), former Louisiana Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu (D)

NBC News’s “Meet the Press”: Steve Kornacki, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D)

Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures”: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), retired Gen. Jack Keane

ABC News’s “This Week”: Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek (D), Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D)