While Sen. Kamala Harris was always a favorite, her selection was not a foregone conclusion.
to help him with the process that led him to the vice presidency a dozen years earlier. That group, working in pairs, quickly cast a wide net of some 20 women whom they thought should be considered, multiple individuals involved with the process told ABC News.
But that list winnowed to just 11, which involved a more invasive round of questioning by search committee members and teams of lawyers under the strictest agreements of confidentiality. Eventually the pool would narrow further to only the women left in final consideration, with Sen. Kamala Harris and former National Security Adviser Susan Rice nearing the top of the list.Biden's selection of Harris, the first Black woman, the first woman of Indian descent and only the fourth woman in the country’s history to be chosen to join a major party ticket, marks another historic bid for Biden. While Harris was always a favorite, her selection was not a foregone conclusion. The decision to ask her to join the ticket was the result of three months of work that put candidates through hours-long formal interviews and follow up calls from teams of lawyers, as well as the evaluation of a massive volume of documents submitted by the women themselves — a tedious task meant to leave no stone unturned. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris pass each other at a campaign event in Wilmington, Del., Aug.12, 2020. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris pass each other at a campaign event in Wilmington, Del., Aug.12, 2020.In reconstructing the search that led to Biden’s decision, ABC News spoke with multiple people familiar with the process and close to the women under consideration. Biden's committee of allies and close advisers, who were charged with overseeing the meticulous and secretive process, included: former Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, Delaware Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Cynthia Hogan, a longtime Biden aide.After an initial round of interviews with nearly two dozen women, the team presented their findings to Biden to pare down the list for more in-depth assessments. The core group of 11 candidates underwent what was described as an"invasive,""time consuming" and"extensive" vetting, which involved a lengthy questionnaire for the women of more than 120 questions. The inquiries ranged from resume details to biographical ones and also explored any potential legal, medical or political liabilities that could be leveled against the candidates. Questions fell along the lines of 'is there anyone who you think fairly or unfairly would attack your appointment?' or 'what’s a political stand that you’ve taken that you’re particularly proud of?' High-profile attorneys, including former White House counsel Bob Bauer, campaign general counsel Dana Remus and former Homeland Security Adviser Lisa Monaco, along with teams of lawyers, managed the thorough legal vetting of the nearly dozen women. The attorneys spoke with some of the candidates for up to two and a half hours and conducted multiple follow-up calls for additional questions and clarifications, and candidates were also asked to compile extensive public, private and political documents and records for review — an arduous undertaking for the candidates and their aides. The co-chairs worked in earnest in pairs — Blunt Rochester and Dodd, and Garcetti and Hogan — to run through the exhaustive process, interviewing a trimmed-down list of candidates more than once before Biden made his decision. A second round of interviews with the vetting committee in part sought to focus on each of the candidates’ governing philosophies on issues that were central to the Democratic primary, such as health care. The interviews also hearkened back to some of the key dynamics that played out during the 2020 primary race, including questions around whether the women considered themselves more of a compromiser or an ideological purist. In total, the vetting committee racked up 120 hours worth of interviews throughout the more than three-month deep-dive, and against the backdrop of some of the most unprecedented circumstances for the country. The coronavirus transformed much of how the search was run, and the protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd subjected Biden to significant public pressure to choose a Black woman. The extraordinary crises helped to raise some of the contenders' national profiles and possibly boost their prospects throughout their auditions, while also challenging them amid the daunting scrutiny that comes with the vetting process. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, one of the women who garnered national prominence for her early and aggressive response to the coronavirus pandemic, and Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who was drawn into the spotlight by President Donald Trump’s use of military force during the demonstrations over race,
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