WASHINGTON — President Biden will meet Wednesday afternoon with the sister of one of Vice President Kamala Harris’ possible running mates — shortly after Biden lunches with the veep at the White House.
Biden, 81, will meet with Penny Pritzker, whose brother is two-term Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, ostensibly to talk about her work as US special representative for Ukraine’s economic recovery.
Biden told reporters Tuesday that he’s “talking” with Harris, 59, about her selection of a running mate after he dropped his campaign for a second term and endorsed her to replace him atop the Democratic ticket.
Harris is scheduled to be en route to Houston for a campaign speech when Penny Pritzker visits the White House.
The VP is expected to announce her decision within days so Democratic delegates can virtually vote on the ticket to meet an Aug. 7 Ohio ballot-access deadline.
The new Democratic ticket is set to campaign in swing states next week in an attempt to harness voter interest — as polls show Harris eating into Trump’s prior lead over Biden nationally and in swing states going into the Nov. 5 election.
Penny Pritzker was commerce secretary between 2013 and 2017 during Biden’s vice presidency and more recently attracted attention for her role pushing Harvard, as leader of the college’s board, to select Claudine Gay as the school’s president. Gay quit in January after she was accused of serial plagiarism.
The Prtizkers are one of America’s wealthiest families and own the Hyatt hotel chain.
JB Prtizker, 59, is not seen as one of the front-runners for the running mate position, but was briefly considered a possible contender for the Democratic presidential nomination as Biden faced pressure to drop out following his dismal June 27 debate performance, which he ultimately did on July 21.
Other Democrats believed to be under consideration by Harris include Govs. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Tim Walz of Minnesota, as well as Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.