Biden advisers starting to gather documents from potential VP picks: report

Joe Biden’s presidential campaign has conducted several rounds of interviews with potential picks to be his running mate and has started gathering private documents from some of them amid growing speculation about who could be the former vice president’s No. 2.

Several people familiar with the process told The New York Times that Biden’s search committee has contacted about a dozen women and that eight or nine of them are being vetted more deeply than others.

Among those who are reportedly being considered more intently are Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), viewed by many as a front-runner for the position, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), once considered an under-the-radar pick, has reportedly advanced in the process, while Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) has seen her prospects for a spot on the ticket wane amid increased scrutiny over her attitude toward police misconduct during her time as district attorney in Hennepin County, which encompasses Minneapolis.

Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams said this week she hasn’t heard from the Biden campaign, but sources insisted to the Times that she is still in contention for the job.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), an Iraq War combat veteran who lost both her legs, and former Obama administration national security adviser Susan Rice have also been interviewed and asked for documents.

The vetting team has also been in contact with Govs. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island and Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico.

The escalation of the vetting process comes amid a backdrop of mass civil unrest over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis.

Biden has already vowed to select a woman as his running mate and nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court, but pressure has increased on him to pick a woman of color as his No. 2 as a way of addressing the role voters of color have played in boosting his presidential campaign and signaling that he hears their concerns after Floyd’s death. 

Biden has said he will prioritize candidates with whom he’s ideologically “simpatico” and who are ready to lead “on day one.”