Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., a member of the Banking Committee, has reportedly withdrawn as a potential running mate for GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Corker, who is also chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told The Washington Post in an interview Wednesday that he has taken himself out of the running.
He was among a shortlist of running mates often said to be under consideration by Trump that has also included New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
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On the one hand, Sen. Elizabeth Warren's potential elevation to vice president could give significant influence if Hillary Clinton wins the White House. But it would also remove a significant voice for reform from a key spot on the Senate Banking Committee.
June 17
Corker has praised some of Trump's foreign policy positions during the presidential campaign and was quicker to embrace the presidential contender than other members of Congress. But the senator told the Post that he took his name out of consideration during meetings Tuesday with Trump and campaign officials. "There are people far more suited for being a candidate for vice president, and I think I'm far more suited for other types of things," the Post quoted him as saying.
As a senior Banking Committee member and a primary architect of a recent proposal for reforming the government-sponsored enterprises, Corker was one of a number of possible vice presidential picks in both parties with banking policy experience. On the Democratic side, Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, the Banking Committee's ranking Democrat, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro have been mentioned as potential running mates for Hillary Clinton.