Joe Biden Picks Kamala Harris as his VP candidate

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has picked his running mate and informed his top advisers, with an announcement possible as early as Tuesday, according to two people familiar with the process.

Biden was expected to announce his selection this week and he finished his interviews in the last few days. People familiar with the process said he and his aides had begun calling the candidates who did not get selected.

Among those who did not get the slot was Representative Karen Bass, a California congresswoman and head of the Congressional Black Caucus, whom Biden called on Tuesday, a person familiar with the matter said.

The announcement will be followed by a grassroots virtual fundraiser with Biden and his vice presidential candidate. There will also likely be an in-person event with Biden and the pick, as advance staff are setting up at the Hotel DuPont in Wilmington.

Leading contenders for the vice presidential nod included Bass, California Senator Kamala Harris, former National Security Adviser Susan Rice, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth.

Biden promised in early spring that he would pick a woman. Since widespread racial justice protests started in June, he has been under pressure to pick a Black woman, which helped propel Harris and Rice toward the top of the list in addition to their other qualifications.

Biden Builds Staff Team for Running Mate Before She Is Unveiled

Earlier Tuesday, the Biden campaign announced a team of aides who will staff his eventual running mate as he prepares to announce his selection of a vice presidential nominee. The list includes longtime Biden insiders, veterans of former President Barack Obama’s White House and more recent campaign hires.

Even before the pick was announced, the Biden campaign is rebutting attacks from President Donald Trump and his allies.

“The Trump campaign has already discredited their attacks before we’re even out of the gate by announcing that regardless of who Joe Biden nominates, they’ll strain to depict the VP candidate as ‘radical’ — just like they’ve tried and failed to do with Biden himself for months. In other words, they’ve flat out admitted they will lie.”

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