Donald Trump’s impending return to the White House means he’ll want to stand up an entirely new administration from the one that served under President Joe Biden.

The top White House lawyer will leave next month after a nearly three-year run helping President Joe Biden weigh legal considerations as he implemented his pandemic response, battled Republican investigations and crafted major legislation.

Five major U.S. cities and the state of California will receive federal help to get unsheltered residents into permanent housing.

President Joe Biden has commuted the sentences of 31 people convicted of nonviolent drug crimes who were serving time in home confinement.

President Joe Biden’s top domestic policy adviser, Susan Rice, is leaving next month.

President Joe Biden has signed an executive order containing more than 50 directives to increase access to child care and improve the work life of caregivers.

A year ago, President Joe Biden used his first State of the Union address to push top Democratic priorities that were sure to face a battle in the narrowly divided Congress — tough asks like an assault weapons ban.

Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, says he's pained by a rise in antisemitism in the United States.

The White House says Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, will host Jewish leaders for a discussion about a rise in antisemitism and efforts to fight hate in the United States.

Negotiations that led to the executive order on race and policing signed last week by President Joe Biden had been in danger of breaking down.

The White House has announced a conference on hunger, nutrition and health in September to make progress on the Biden administration's goal of ending hunger, improving nutrition and physical activity, and reducing diet-related diseases.

Dozens of interest groups have met with White House staffers to try to influence a long-awaited plan to ban menthol cigarettes.

The Biden administration has released hundreds of strategies it's taking or will take to boost equity across the federal government.

A major effort to overhaul care for people in the United States with mental health and drug problems is gaining traction in Washington.

Black members of President Joe Biden's Cabinet came together Thursday for a Black History Month event highlighting their roles in the administration, some of which are historic firsts.

White House counsel Dana Remus made a lasting impression on her colleagues with her calm during the chaotic time after last year’s election when Donald Trump challenged the legitimacy of Joe Biden’s victory.

President Joe Biden’s and congressional Democrats’ push for a 10-year, $3.5 trillion package of social and environmental initiatives has reached a turning point.

Despite a long night of frantic negotiations, Democrats remain unable to reach an immediate deal to salvage President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion government overhaul, forcing leaders to call off promised votes on a related public works bill.

John Hoffman and Janet Tobias’ “Fauci” is the first big-screen documentary of the nation’s top infectious disease expert and ubiquitous face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A rare clash between the Biden administration and congressional Democrats may have created a blueprint for pressuring a White House that needs to walk a tightrope to satisfy all members of its party to pass its ambitious agenda.

President Joe Biden marked six months in office on Tuesday with a full, crowded Cabinet meeting.

The Biden administration has convened the first meeting of its community violence intervention collaborative, a group of mayors and administration officials that will share best practices and work closely with the federal government to reduce gun violence.

With the federal eviction moratorium extended through July, the focus has turned to getting rental assistance out to millions of tenants.

President Joe Biden has announced a bipartisan agreement on a pared-down but still huge infrastructure plan.

President Joe Biden says on the fifth anniversary of a mass shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that he will sign a bill naming the site as a national memorial.

A foundation launched by prominent Asian American business leaders says it has raised more than $1 billion to support Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.

The family and representatives of Black men killed by the police have met at the White House with senators and Biden administration officials and say they left feeling optimistic.

Vice President Kamala Harris has marked Black Maternal Health Week by leading a White House discussion of the issues that make African American women two to three times more likely than other women to die because of childbirth.

WASHINGTON – At least one group in America is unlikely to get any money from President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion economic rescue plan — his own top aides. Most of Biden’s senior West Wing advisers made far more than the threshold that would qualify them for direct payments from the president’s COVID-19 relief bill, according to White House financial disclosure forms released Saturday. Others in the West Wing — whose positions don't require Senate confirmation — have had deep ties to the business world. He was listed as having a salary of $1.8 million, according to his disclosure form. Brian Deese, head of the national economic council, was previously global head of sustainable investing at BlackRock, according to his disclosure.

___WASHINGTON — Coronavirus vaccine makers tell Congress to expect a big increase in the delivery of doses over the coming month. AdLooking ahead to summer, Pfizer and Moderna expect to complete delivery of 300 million doses each, and J&J aims to provide an additional 100 million doses. ___MADRID — Spain has registered 7,461 new coronavirus cases and 443 more deaths. AdThe country has reached a total of 3.1 million cases and 68,000 confirmed deaths. Ad___GENEVA — The head of the World Health Organization is criticizing the lack of access to coronavirus vaccines for the world’s poor.

WASHINGTON D.C. – The White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki is expected to hold a briefing Tuesday morning. According to the White House schedule, she will be joined by Domestic Policy Adviser Susan Rice. It is unclear what they will be addressing during the briefing. The briefing is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Click2Houston.com plans to offer a live stream of the event.

The 15 executive actions, and two directives, amount to an attempt to rewind the last four years of federal policies with striking speed. Only two recent presidents signed executive actions on their first day in office — and each signed just one. Among the executive actions signed Wednesday was one requiring masks and physical distancing on federal property and by federal employees. But Biden's blitz of executive actions went beyond the pandemic. His press secretary, Jen Psaki, held a briefing for reporters, a practice the Trump White House had all but abandoned in the final two months of the presidency.

President Joe Biden speaks during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, Pool)Rare for an inaugural address, President Joe Biden issued a strong repudiation of white supremacy and domestic terrorism seen on the rise under Donald Trump. “A cry for racial justice some 400 years in the making moves us,” Biden said in the nearly 23-minute-long speech promising to heal a divided nation. And now a rise of political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism that we must confront and we will defeat.”Compared to his immediate predecessors, three of whom attended Wednesday's inauguration, Biden is the first president to directly address the ills of white supremacy in an inaugural speech. “We must set aside politics and finally face this pandemic as one nation.”In his speech, Biden invoked Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation committing to freeing enslaved Africans during the Civil War.

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)SAN DIEGO – For the opening salvo of his presidency, few expected Joe Biden to be so far-reaching on immigration. He also extended temporary legal status to Liberians who fled civil war and the Ebola outbreak to June 2022. Former President Donald Trump's administration also took hundreds of other steps to enhance enforcement, limit eligibility for asylum and cut legal immigration. The survey of more than 110,000 voters in November showed 9 in 10 Biden voters but just about half of Trump voters were in favor of a path to legal status. Biden's bill calls for more technology at land crossings, airports and seaports and authorizes the Homeland Security secretary to consider other steps.

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)In his first official acts as president, Joe Biden is signing executives orders on a broad range of issues, from the coronavirus pandemic to climate change and immigration, to fulfill campaign promises. Biden also is setting in motion an evaluation of another Trump move that cut boundaries and protections for some national monuments. ___IMMIGRATIONENDING BAN ON MUSLIM TRAVELERS: Biden is ending what is variously known as the “travel ban” or the “Muslim ban,” one of the first acts of the Trump administration. Congress paused student debt payments last March as part of a virus relief package, and the Trump administration extended it twice. Biden's order does not include the type of mass debt cancellation that some Democrats asked him to orchestrate through executive action.

While the House debated Trump's role in encouraging the riot, Pompeo sent a tweet promoting Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. And in a sign of his post-Trump ambitions, he urged followers of his official State Department Twitter account to start following his personal one. Already the most political of recent secretaries of state, Pompeo has bristled at even the mildest criticism and accused his critics of being misguided, unintelligent or incompetent. Pompeo and the State Department were largely absent from that diplomacy, with the exception of Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who reports mainly to the White House. “L’Chaim to Pompeo wine!” Pompeo said on Twitter.

His Cabinet picks help demonstrate how he plans to deliver. Many have already begun meeting with interest groups and advocacy organizations, and his transition team has had what’s been described as an “open-door policy” toward advocacy groups for months. It’s a sharp contrast to President Donald Trump’s Cabinet, which was dominated largely by white men with little experience in Washington. Biden’s aides say that was one of the goals he set in filling out his Cabinet: to signal that his presidency means a return to competent, stable leadership government. While Salguero recalled meetings with the Trump administration on key issues, he said the Biden transition team’s outreach already has gone further.

President-elect Joe Biden pauses as he leaves to listen to a reporter's shouted question at The Queen Theater in Wilmington, Del., Tuesday, Dec 22, 2020. U.S. authorities encountered migrants at the border with Mexico more than 70,000 times in October and in November, four times April's tally. On his campaign website, Biden promised to end the agreement with Mexico, known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, within the first 100 days of his presidency. This effort will begin immediately but it will take months to develop the capacity that we will need to reopen fully,” she said. “The Biden administration’s work to end cruelty must start immediately,” said Linda Rivas, executive director and managing attorney of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center in El Paso, Texas.

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)WASHINGTON – Shortly after President-elect Joe Biden’s victory last month, Cabinet hopeful Marcia Fudge pointedly noted that Black people are often typecast into positions such as housing secretary. He’s pledged to nominate the most diverse Cabinet in history and restore experience at beleaguered federal agencies. The GOP has barely acknowledged Biden's victory so the cooperation of its senators in the confirmation process is far from certain. “That’s why we are worried.”One prominent feature of Biden’s picks so far: deep ties to the Obama administration. Brent Colburn, a former Obama administration official who served in several agencies, encouraged Democrats to consider the bigger picture as they judge Biden's Cabinet.

FILE - In this Dec. 12, 2020, file photo, President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington before boarding Marine One. As he prepares to exit the White House, President Donald Trump is rewarding some supporters and like-minded allies with the perks and prestige that come with serving on federal advisory boards and commissions. “But nobody does these things with more politicization than Trump,” Light said. The positions have what Light describes as “gorgeous resume value.”The number of advisory board positions has ballooned over the years. Among the most consequential of the wave of appointments has been with advisory boards at the Pentagon.

Susan Rice, the Biden administration's choice to lead the White House Domestic Policy Council, speaks during an event at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del., Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. His choice for agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack, served in the same post for Obama for eight years. Above all, they know how government should and can work for all Americans.”Relying too heavily on Obama administration veterans has already begun to draw some grumbling from members of Biden's own party, however. Mark Riddle, a Democratic strategist who founded a pro-Biden Super PAC during the 2020 presidential campaign, said there is no danger in relying too heavily on “all star” former Obama administration leaders. “If we come out of the box on jobs, jobs, jobs, I feel great.

Increasingly deep into the process of selecting Cabinet members and other senior staff, the incoming Biden administration has a distinctly Obama feel. There's Denis McDonough, former President Barack Obama's chief of staff who Biden announced on Thursday would be nominated as the secretary of veterans affairs. Susan Rice, Obama's former national security adviser, was named the director of Biden's White House Domestic Policy Council. Jeff Zients, who did stints as acting Office of Management and Budget director and a top economic adviser in the Obama White House, will return as Biden’s coronavirus response coordinator. They're pressing Biden to focus in particular on the diversity of his Cabinet after several early picks were white men.

WASHINGTON – Rahm Emanuel’s chances of landing a top Cabinet post in Joe Biden's administration appear increasingly unlikely after the former Chicago mayor emerged as a source of controversy for the president-elect, who had been considering Emanuel for transportation secretary, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. Al Sharpton raised similar concerns during a meeting with Biden and other civil rights leaders, the person said. The person was not authorized to publicly discuss private deliberations and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity. An announcement on transportation secretary is not believed to be imminent. Two other high profile Obama-era alumni were announced Thursday as joining the Biden administration — Denis McDonough as veterans' affairs secretary and Susan Rice to head the Domestic Policy Council.

FILE - In this Feb. 19, 2020 file photo, former national security adviser Susan Rice takes part in a discussion on global leadership at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. President-elect Joe Biden is naming Susan Rice as director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. The move marks a surprising shift for Rice, a longtime Democratic foreign policy expert who served as President Barack Obama’s national security adviser and U.N. ambassador. In selecting Rice and McDonough, Biden is continuing to stockpile his administration with prominent members of the Obama administration. In choosing Rice to oversee the White House council, advisers said Biden is signaling the importance of domestic policy in his early agenda. McDonough was previously Obama’s deputy national security adviser, including during the Navy SEAL raid in 2011 that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, and was a longtime congressional staffer.

Thomas-Greenfield joined the State Department more than three decades ago, when Black women were even more of a rarity in the U.S. diplomatic corps than they are today. That makes her the most experienced diplomat of the six people named by Biden for top national security positions on Monday. Her tenure at the State Department rivals that of previous U.N. ambassadors like Richard Holbrooke, John Negroponte and Thomas Pickering, all of them white men. Other than secretary of state, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations is often the most high-profile foreign policy portfolio in a presidential administration. Thomas-Greenfield's immediate predecessors — all women — highlight that dichotomy: Rice, Samantha Power, Nikki Haley and Kelly Craft.

The picks include former Secretary of State John Kerry to take the lead on combating climate change. “America will soon have a government that treats the climate crisis as the urgent national security threat it is,” Kerry said. At 43, he will be one of the youngest national security advisers in history. Blinken, 58, served as deputy secretary of state and deputy national security adviser during the Obama administration and has close ties with Biden. Blinken recently participated in a national security briefing with Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and weighed in publicly just last week on notable foreign policy issues in Egypt and Ethiopia.

Tigray refugees who fled the conflict in the Ethiopia's Tigray arrive on the banks of the Tekeze River on the Sudan-Ethiopia border, in Hamdayet, eastern Sudan, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020. The U.N. refugee agency says Ethiopia's growing conflict has resulted in thousands fleeing from the Tigray region into Sudan as fighting spilled beyond Ethiopia's borders and threatened to inflame the Horn of Africa region. The TPLF dominated Ethiopia's ruling coalition for a quarter century before Abiy took office and introduced dramatic political reforms and sidelined TPLF leaders. With communications and transport to the Tigray region almost completely severed, it's difficult to verify the warring sides' claims. And inside the Tigray region, the fighting has come close to camps that are home to nearly 100,000 refugees from Eritrea.

WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden is moving quickly to fill out his administration and could name top leaders for his Cabinet as early as next week. The Cabinet announcements could be released in tranches, with groups of nominees focused on a specific top area, like the economy, national security or public health, being announced at once. At this point, Biden is deeply involved in choosing his Cabinet, a process described by one person as similar to fitting puzzle pieces together. In putting together the 15-person team, Biden is facing demands from multiple, competing interests, as well as the political realities of navigating a closely divided Senate. The lack of ascertainment is also putting somewhat of a cash crunch on the Biden team.

Susan Rice at the 2019 Texas Tribune Festival. In a conversation with The Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith during the 2020 Texas Tribune Festival, Rice also distanced herself and Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden from the defund the police movement. She also accused President Donald Trump of encouraging violence and worsening the coronavirus pandemic. In the lead up to the November election, speakers at the Republican National Convention and President Donald Trump have portrayed Democrats as opponents of law and order who want to defund police forces across the country. She also alleged that Trump essentially encouraged violence in his responses to deaths at recent protests.

President Donald Trump's campaign is struggling to define California Sen. Kamala Harris, the newly announced running mate for Democratic rival Joe Biden. Like Biden, Harris has staked out relatively moderate stances over the course of her career on issues such as health care and law enforcement. That's complicating the Trump campaign's crude efforts to depict the Democratic ticket as out of step with the country. A radical leftist who is causing a revolt among Bernie voters. Harris ran her own campaign for the Democratic nomination as a relative moderate in the field.

FILE - In this Nov. 8, 2019, file photo, then-Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., reacts as she speaks at a town hall event at the Culinary Workers Union in Las Vegas. Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden has chosen Harris as his running mate. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Whitmer sent word to Bidens team that while she was flattered, she no longer wanted to be considered for the running mate slot, according to a high-ranking Democrat familiar with the process. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Florida Rep. Val Demings impressed Bidens team with their leadership during the police brutality protests. The public disclosure of Dodds comments angered some of the highest-ranking women on Bidens campaign team. Eleni Kounalakis, who organized a call with Bidens vetting team about two weeks ago to assuage any doubts about whether the senator was the right choice for the ticket. The call ended with Bidens vetting team telling the Harris supporters that they had all recommended her as one of the top candidates for the job.

Whitmer sent word to Bidens team that while she was flattered, she no longer wanted to be considered for the running mate slot, according to a high-ranking Democrat familiar with the process. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Florida Rep. Val Demings impressed Bidens team with their leadership during the police brutality protests. The public disclosure of Dodds comments angered some of the highest-ranking women on Bidens campaign team. Eleni Kounalakis, who organized a call with Bidens vetting team about two weeks ago to assuage any doubts about whether the senator was the right choice for the ticket. The call ended with Bidens vetting team telling the Harris supporters that they had all recommended her as one of the top candidates for the job.

Women say they will fight sexism, 'ugly' attacks on HarrisPublished: August 11, 2020, 11:15 pmFILE - In this March 9, 2020, file photo, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks at a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden at Renaissance High School in Detroit. Before Joe Biden named Harris his running mate, womens groups were readying a campaign of their own: Shutting down sexist coverage and disinformation about a vice presidential nominee they say is headed for months of false smears and brutal attacks from internet haters. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File) (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden has chosen Harris as his running mate. In choosing Harris, Biden embraced a former rival from the Democratic primary who is familiar with the unique rigor of a national campaign. A woman has never served as president or vice president in the United States. Harris launched her presidential campaign in early 2019 with the slogan Kamala Harris For the People, a reference to her courtroom work. Some Biden confidants said Harris debate attack did irritate the former vice president, who had a friendly relationship with her.

The 2020 spotlight is about to shift, at least temporarily, away from President Donald Trump and onto Biden. It's no secret that Democrats want the 2020 election to be a referendum on Trump. But for the next two weeks, the brightest spotlight is expected to shine on Biden and his party. It's worth noting here that running mates have rarely, if ever, swayed a presidential election in the modern era. The countrys counterintelligence chief, William Evanina, on Friday offered the most specific warning to date about the threat of foreign interference in the 2020 election.

Gretchen Whitmer traveled to Delaware last weekend to meet with Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee's first known in-person session with a potential running mate as he nears a decision. Whitmer visited Biden Sunday, according to two high-ranking Michigan Democrats who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Biden is facing calls to select a Black woman to acknowledge their crucial role in Democratic politics and in response to the nation's reckoning with systemic racism. If Whitmer is chosen to join the ticket and Biden wins, Lt. Gov. Biden and Whitmer formed a bond after he campaigned for her in the 2018 gubernatorial election.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden gestures while referencing President Donald Trump at a campaign event at the William "Hicks" Anderson Community Center in Wilmington, Del., Tuesday, July 28, 2020. Instead, the vice presidential vetting has resurfaced internal party divisions between the old-guard establishment and a younger generation that's more attuned to gender and racial biases and willing to speak out. Some contend it's just more evidence of why Biden needs a woman on his ticket. Were going crazy.Politico recently reported that former Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, the co-chair of Biden's vetting committee, was concerned that Harris, a former presidential candidate, was not sufficiently regretful about attacking Biden during a primary debate. They note that Biden himself is a former vice president with enough ambition to fuel what is his third run for president and say no one would criticize Republican Vice President Mike Pence for eyeing the top job.

FILE - In this Saturday, June 1, 2019 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks at an SEIU event before the 2019 California Democratic Party State Organizing Convention in San Francisco. Some contend it's just more evidence of why Biden needs a woman on his ticket. On Monday, Ed Rendell, a former Democratic Party chairman and a Biden ally, was quoted in The Washington Post noting that there has been recent buzz about former national security adviser Susan Rice. Carr compared them, without naming names, to dinosaurs in extinction. She urged the Biden campaign to wrap the process up soon. They note that Biden himself is a former vice president with enough ambition to fuel his third run for the presidency and say no one would criticize Republican Vice President Mike Pence for eyeing the top job.

At the same time, the Trump administration has opposed any significant efforts in the latest coronavirus rescue package to protect and strengthen mail voting. But this week largely belongs to Biden, who is days away from announcing the winner of the veepstakes. The question then becomes whether the Trump administration will do anything to address his concerns about mail voting. GOP officials said over the weekend that the vote to formally give Trump his party's 2020 presidential nomination will be conducted in private later this month. ___2020 Watch runs every Monday and provides a look at the week ahead in the 2020 election.

WASHINGTON As Joe Biden nears the announcement of his vice presidential choice, the top contenders and their advocates are making final appeals. That's one week before Democrats will hold their convention to officially nominate Biden as their presidential nominee. As Biden prepares to make his choice, a committee established to vet running mates has provided him with briefing materials. He has pledged to select a woman and is facing calls to choose the first Black woman to compete on a presidential ticket. Harris, while not directly addressing her vice presidential prospects, said Saturday that anyone who tries to shatter a glass ceiling faces naysayers.

Historically, U.S. foreign policy hasn't changed drastically as the presidency shifted between Democratic and Republican administrations. Under his America First policy, he viewed both allies and the foreign policy establishment with suspicion, while speaking warmly of adversaries like North Korea's Kim Jong Un and Russia's Vladimir Putin. Nicholas Burns had high-level foreign policy positions under Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. The Trump campaign casts Biden's foreign policy experience as a weakness. Hes promised to call top NATO leaders and declare of U.S. foreign policy, Were back while convening a summit of major heads of state in his first year.

WASHINGTON As Joe Biden nears the announcement of his vice presidential choice, the top contenders and their advocates are making final appeals. Bill Richardson, who was vetted for vice president in 2008. The selection amounts to the most significant choice Biden has confronted in his nearly five-decade political career. On Friday night, Biden held a virtual fundraiser with Elizabeth Warren, who has also been considered as a running mate. The two talked for nearly an hour but did not mention the vice presidential selection process.

FILE - In this Dec. 15, 2010, file photo Vice President Joe Biden, center, and Susan Rice, the U.S. The 55-year-old has a long pedigree in foreign policy, but has never held elected office. She has also been a lightning rod for criticism from Republicans, who contend she put politics ahead of national security. 2 who could shoulder much of the early workload on foreign policy while Biden focused on the COVID-19 pandemic and reviving the economy. His entire theory of politics is personal relationships, Ben Rhodes, who served as Obamas deputy national security adviser, said of Biden.

WASHINGTON Democrat Joe Biden said Monday that he is getting extensive briefings from lawyers vetting candidates for vice president and plans to have personal discussions with his final choices for running mate. The presumptive presidential nominee said on MSNBCs The ReidOut that he is getting a "two-hour vetting report" on his VP contenders. Biden has been under some pressure to choose a Black woman as his vice presidential candidate in a nod to the constituency's role as the most dependable Democratic base of voters. He would not commit Monday to selecting a Black woman when asked on MSNBC, saying only, "I am not committed to naming any but the people I have named, and among them there are four Black women. So, that decision is underway right now.Among the Black women Biden is believed to be considering are California Sen. Kamala Harris, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Florida Rep. Val Demings, California Rep. Karen Bass and former Obama administration official Susan Rice.

FILE - In this Jan. 9, 2020, file photo, President Donald Trump points as he arrives to speak at a campaign rally, in Toledo, Ohio. Multiple polls suggest that a majority of voters, including many Republicans, simply don't believe what Trump says about the pandemic. Meanwhile, Trump also refused to say whether he would accept the results of the general election. Scott Walker, the former Wisconsin governor and a Trump ally, tells us that he sees no clear strategy coming from the Trump campaign. ___2020 Watch runs every Monday and provides a look at the week ahead in the 2020 election.

Harris wouldn't comment on her vice presidential prospects, saying her top priority is for Biden to pick someone who will help defeat President Donald Trump. Brian Brokaw, who managed her 2010 campaign for attorney general, said its easier for Harris to be herself outside the scrutiny of a presidential campaign. We need people who are going to be in these offices that will be true champions for the causes of the oppressed, McBride said of Harris' vice presidential prospects. He suggested Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is white, would be a better vice presidential nominee. But DeJear, Harris' Iowa campaign chairwoman, said the vice presidency could provide an opportunity for Harris to drill down on reforming the criminal justice system.

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Pool via AP)CHICAGO Amy Klobuchar said Thursday that she was dropping out of the running to be vice president and urging Democrat Joe Biden to select a woman of color instead. Biden had already committed to choosing a woman as his running mate. I think this is a moment to put a woman of color on that ticket," Klobuchar said on MSNBC. Klobuchar, 60, was among a large field of Democrats who had sought the 2020 presidential nomination, running as a pragmatic Midwesterner who has passed over 100 bills. Like Biden, Klobuchar disagreed with Sanders and Warren during the campaign on major issues such as health care, calling Medicare for All unachievable and pushing instead for changes to the Affordable Care Act.

But following the outrage over the police killing of George Floyd last month, many Democratic strategists say there's growing consensus that the pick should be a Black woman. Like it or not, I think the question is starting to become, Well, why not a Black woman? said Karen Finney, a spokesperson for Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign. Finney, who was one of 200 Black women who signed a letter to Biden encouraging him to select a Black woman for his ticket, warned that the former vice president could face a backlash if he chose a white woman. Gretchen Whitmer, said last month that she had opening conversations with Bidens team about potentially serving as vice president. Heitkamp said she's long believed Biden should choose a Black woman, in part because of the current political climate, but also because Black women are some of the Democratic Party's most loyal voters.

But some black leaders say Warren's progressive politics, economic populism and specific policy proposals addressing everything from maternal mortality to the coronavirus could put her in a strong position. But some black leaders say Warren's progressive politics, economic populism and specific policy proposals addressing everything from maternal mortality to the coronavirus could put her in a strong position. She gave a memorable speech in Atlanta in November on empowering black women and combating institutional racism that some African American leaders laud as prescient. I think that she could be an interesting and compelling pick for Vice President Biden in regards to reaching out to African American voters, Garvin said. Some 61% of African American voters supported Biden, according to AP VoteCast surveys in 17 states that voted between Feb. 3 and March 17.

What were watching heading into a new week on the 2020 campaign:Days to next set of primaries (New York and Kentucky): 8Days to general election: 141___THE NARRATIVEPresident Donald Trump makes his official return to the campaign trail this week. At the same time, health experts worry that Trump's rally could help intensify a second wave of coronavirus infections. ___THE BIG QUESTIONSWill Trump's return to the campaign trail backfire? ___2020 Watch runs every Monday and provides a look at the week ahead in the 2020 election. ___Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, Ground Game.

In this June 11, 2020, photo, Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a roundtable on economic reopening with community members in Philadelphia. Bidens search for a running mate is entering a second round of vetting for a dwindling list of potential vice presidential nominees, with several black women in strong contention. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)WASHINGTON Joe Bidens search for a running mate is entering a second round of vetting for a dwindling list of potential vice presidential nominees, with several black women in strong contention. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Kamala Harris of California, as well as Susan Rice, who served as President Barack Obama's national security adviser. The campaign's list includes several black women, including Harris and Rice.

WASHINGTON Joe Bidens search for a running mate is entering a second round of vetting for a dwindling list of potential vice presidential nominees, with several black women in strong contention. Democrats with knowledge of the process said Bidens search committee has narrowed the choices to as few as six serious contenders after initial interviews. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Kamala Harris of California, as well as Susan Rice, who served as President Barack Obama's national security adviser. Those familiar with Biden's search spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the process. The campaign's short list includes several black women, including Harris and Rice.