Biden is reportedly down to 4 vice presidential finalists


Former Vice President Joe Biden is getting closer to making a vice presidential decision of his own.
Biden has already promised that he'll pick a woman as his 2020 running mate, and has been under pressure to choose a woman of color after a month of protests against systemic racism and police brutality in the U.S. More than a dozen people close to the Biden search process tell CNN that Biden has listened to that pressure: Just four women are reportedly left on Biden's short list, and three of them are Black.
Two former presidential contenders, Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), reportedly remain on Biden's list, and rounding it out are Rep. Val Demings of Florida and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. Warren is seen as the most progressive of those reportedly on Biden's shortlist, and would likely signal that Biden is willing to be pulled to the left on some issues. Progressives have meanwhile been hesitant to root for Harris or Demings because of their histories as California's top prosecutor and the head of Orlando's police department, respectively.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) recently removed herself from the running to be Biden's vice president and encouraged him to pick a woman of color for the spot. Biden isn't expected to have formal sitdowns with those remaining candidates until mid-to-late July, and will likely deliver a decision in early August, CNN reports.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
The best shows to see at Edinburgh Fringe 2025
The Week Recommends The world's biggest arts festival is back with an incredible line-up
-
Wonsan-Kalma: North Korea's new 'mammoth' beach resort
Under the Radar Pyongyang wants to boost tourism but there won't be many foreign visitors to Kim Jong Un's 'pet project'
-
The 5 best TV reboots of all time
The Week Recommends Finding an entirely new cast to play beloved characters is harder than it looks
-
AI scammer fakes Rubio messages to top officials
Speed Read The unknown individual mimicked Rubio in voice and text messages sent to multiple government officials
-
SCOTUS greenlights Trump's federal firings
speed read The Trump administration can conduct mass federal firings without Congress' permission, the Supreme Court ruled
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Elon Musk launching 'America Party'
Speed Read The tech mogul promised to form a new political party if Trump's megabill passed Congress
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities