Joe Biden’s presidential campaign is preparing to announce his running mate during the middle of this week after the presumptive Democrat nominee finished interviewing every finalist to run with him in November, the New York Times reported Monday.
The paper also reported that Biden’s committee of advisers screening his possible VP choices “have effectively disbanded” now that their work is done.
In the story, the New York Times reported that “Biden’s political team has prepared rollout plans for several of the finalists, and he is expected to announce his decision as soon as Tuesday, though more Democrats expect it to come on Wednesday.”
HERE’S WHO BIDEN MAY BE CONSIDERING AS HIS RUNNING MATE
According to the outlet, Biden has been directly in touch with the top contenders recently through both in-person sessions and remote meetings. Contenders are believed to include Sen. Kamala Harris, former national security adviser Susan Rice, Rep. Karen Bass, Rep. Val Demings, and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
The new details come after Biden quipped to Fox News on Saturday that he has picked a running mate, before following it up with a joke when asked who the choice was.
TJ Ducklo, the Biden campaign’s national press secretary, later tweeted that the exchange was “clearly a joke.”
“When Vice President Biden has made a decision on who his running mate will be, he will let the American people know,” he said.
When asked earlier by Fox News in Delaware whether or not he had picked a VP, Biden said: “Yeh I have.”
When Fox News asked who, Biden quipped “you” in response. It was initially unclear how serious Biden’s initial response, made during a bike ride in a state park, was.
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Speculation is rampant about who Biden may pick as his running mate, and an announcement is expected any day with the Aug. 17 start of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) nearing.
Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.