Biden announces vice president vetting team

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Thursday announced the four leaders of his vice presidential vetting team – former Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, Delaware Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Cynthia Hogan, an Apple executive and longtime aide.

Their appointments as co-chairs officially starts the vetting process, now complicated by an allegation that Biden sexually assaulted a female aide when he was a senator, considering Biden has vowed to pick a female as a running mate. 

His purported shortlist includes Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams and two former 2020 presidential primary challengers –  Sens. Kamala Harris, of California, and Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts. 

The four co-chairs will work with vetting teams led by former White House counsel Bob Bauer, campaign general counsel Dana Remus and former homeland security adviser Lisa Monaco to evaluate Biden’s options and collect information on each candidate to help him make his decision, according to the Associated Press.