GOP leadership, Iraq highlight Sunday talk shows

WASHINGTON — The Sunday news shows will highlight the destabilization of Iraq and changes in House Republican leadership, among other topics.

The situation in Iraq over the past week continued to grow more worrisome for President Obama as he announced Thursday he was sending in 300 military advisers, drawn mainly from special forces units, to help the government in its fight against Islamist extremists, who have been attacking Iraqi cities under the banner of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.

Meanwhile, House Republicans elected Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as their new majority leader. He will replace Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, who suffered a stunning June 10 primary loss and announced he would step down from his leadership post July 31.

Here's the Sunday show lineup:

• NBC's Meet the Press: Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and prospective 2016 presidential candidate, will discuss Iraq. Appearing also will be Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who is chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, and Michele Flournoy, former undersecretary of Defense.

• ABC's This Week: Former vice president Dick Cheney will discuss Iraq, while the show also features an interview with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor about her new book, My Beloved World.

• CBS'Face the Nation: Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., will discuss events in Iraq. The show also will feature a report from Iraq and a discussion with Michael Morell, CBS' senior security correspondent and a former CIA official. The change in Republican leadership in the House and the Tea Party's ongoing threat to the GOP establishment will be other topics.

• CNN's State of the Union:Paul will appear here also, as will Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, both to discuss events in Iraq. Appearing also will be Bob Woodward of The Washington Post and former Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein to discuss the 42nd anniversary of the Watergate break-in. Woodward and Bernstein will also discuss Iraq and Cheney's continued presence in the limelight.

• Fox News Sunday: McCarthy, in his first television interview since getting elected House majority leader, will appear to discuss the new House Republican leadership team. Another topic will be the lost e-mails related to the Internal Revenue Service's investigation of tax-exempt conservative and Tea Party groups. Appearing to discuss the agency's actions will be Cleta Mitchell, an attorney representing Tea Party groups, and Julian Epstein, a former top Democratic House staffer.