The Final Countdown
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.
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.