Biden Tells Sanders He’s Begun Looking Into VP, Cabinet Picks

Biden Tells Sanders He’s Begun Looking Into VP, Cabinet Picks

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden told donors at a virtual fundraising event on Friday that he has informed rival candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) that his campaign will launch a committee to vet potential vice presidential candidates “sometime in the middle of the month.” Biden said he has also discussed potential picks for cabinet positions.

“One of the things I learned a long time ago, and I really mean this, a good leader has to be willing to have people that are smarter than them, know more than they know about a subject, bring in people who in fact have an expertise you don’t have,” the former vice president said, according to a pool report.

“I actually had this discussion with Bernie,” he added. “He’s a friend. We’re competitors…I don’t want him to think I’m being presumptuous, but you have to start now deciding who you’re going to have background checks done on as potential vice presidential candidates, and it takes time.”

Biden also disclosed talks with former President Barack Obama about when he should begin the process of making potential cabinet selections.

“So I called President Obama, not as to who but how soon you have to start that. Now the convention’s been moved back now another month so there’s more time now,” Biden said. “It’s kind of presumptuous, but sometime in the middle of the month we’re going to announce a committee that’s going to be overseeing the vice presidential selection process.”

Biden currently has 1,217 delegates to Sanders’ 914, with  a minimum of 1,991 needed to secure the nomination on the first ballot at the Democratic National Convention. Biden needs approximately 46 percent of the remaining delegates, while Sanders needs 64 percent.

William Vaillancourt

William Vaillancourt is a writer and editor from New Hampshire whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Progressive, Slate and Areo Magazine, among other places. He holds a BA in Political Science and History from Boston University.

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