MILWAUKEE — Former President Donald Trump has made his pick for vice president, according to two senior campaign officials, and will announce it here at the Republican convention at 3:30 p.m. CT. The running mate will appear when the vice presidential nomination process starts.
Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, is focused on three finalists: Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota. But the search process has been closely guarded by the former president and top advisers, with everything from timing to the identity of his choice largely up to Trump himself.
The assassination attempt against Trump at his Saturday rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, could have altered the timing or sent the search in other directions. But a Monday announcement coincides with his long-preferred timeline of introducing his choice at the convention.
In the days before the Pennsylvania rally, Trump had a series of final check-ins with the finalists, three sources familiar with the discussions told NBC News.
Vance and Rubio met with Trump in person at his Mar-a-Lago resort, a source familiar with those meetings said. Burgum had a discussion with Trump by telephone, two sources familiar with that conversation said. ABC News was first to report on the meetings.
Jesse Rodriguez and Emma Barnett contributed.
