Former Vice President Joe Biden for the first time on Saturday said that his vice presidential vetting committee is looking at “more than a dozen women” and that there is “significantly more than one black woman” being considered.
Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, made the comments in an interview with Rev. Al Sharpton on his MSNBC show PoliticsNation. Biden also acknowledged the push by outside groups for a black woman to be selected as his running mate.
“I really do understand that, Al, for real. And that’s why I assure you that of the more than a dozen women that they’re taking an initial look at, there are significantly more than one black woman that’s going to be considered by this group, first and foremost, number one,” he said.
Biden has promised to choose a woman as his running mate and said he will pick someone who is “simpatico” with his views. He also recently shared that former President Barack Obama had advised him to pick someone who “has strengths where I have weaknesses.”
The comments come as Biden’s campaign on Thursday announced the co-chairs of its vice presidential selection committee. Among the committee members are former Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Cynthia C. Hogan, a former White House and Senate counsel to Biden.
There are a number of women who are likely to be considered and have been in regular contact with Biden during the pandemic, including Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. California Sen. Kamala Harris, former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams and Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto are all potential contenders as well.
Biden has long made a pledge that he will have a diverse administration that “looks like America.” He reiterated this point to donors Wednesday, saying his administration, cabinet, vice president and any Supreme Court nominees “will look like the country.”
The former vice president told donors during a fundraiser Wednesday that he hopes the vetting process for his running mate will be done by July.
CNN’s Kelly Mena contributed to this story.
