Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer met with Biden amid VP selection process
Former Vice President Joe Biden’s vice presidential vetting process appears to be entering its final stages, as the presumptive Democratic nominee has begun to hold interviews with prospective candidates.
A source familiar with the vetting process confirms that the former vice president met with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last Sunday, marking the first known meeting between Biden and a vice presidential candidate.
Flight records show a private plane departed Lansing’s Capital Region Airport last Sunday evening and arrived in Delaware Coastal Airport -- about 30 minutes from Biden’s beach home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. A return flight landed back in Lansing late that same evening.
Biden has met with at least one other candidate, the source confirmed, but did not provide further details about who the meeting was with or when it took place.
When asked for comment on the meeting with the Michigan governor, a spokesperson for the Biden campaign declined to comment.
A spokesperson for Whitmer also declined to weigh in on the report, telling ABC News “We don't discuss the governor's personal schedule.”
Speculation around who Biden will choose to serve as his running mate has hit a fever pitch as his vice presidential search enters what is likely its last week, with the Democratic National Convention fast approaching.
The former vice president appeared to have some fun Saturday afternoon with the intense anticipation of his decision, jokingly telling a male reporter that he had made up his mind and had chosen the reporter as his running mate.
Biden committed to choosing a female running mate during the final Democratic primary debate in March and has faced pressure to choose a woman of color to join him on the ticket throughout the vetting process. That pressure follows a campaign-reviving win in South Carolina due in part to strong support from African American voters and has been compounded by nationwide protests over racial inequality in the wake of the death of George Floyd, who was killed in Minneapolis police custody in May.
While several deadlines laid out by Biden on his vice presidential announcement have come and gone, Biden has consistently committed to having a decision before the convention, which is now slated to be an almost entirely virtual event held from Aug. 17 to Aug. 20.
Biden’s campaign also appears to be eagerly awaiting his decision, already promoting a joint grassroots fundraiser with Biden and his vice president, once she is announced. No date or time has been given for the event.
ABC News' John Verhovek and Kendall Karson contributed to this report.
