Election 2020, White House Report

Vetting VP Candidates: Val Demings on Election 2020 Priorities

April Ryan
July 14, 2020

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., asks questions during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on proposed changes to police practices and accountability on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, June 10, 2020, in Washington. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP)

Congress member Val Demings (D-FL) has previously served as a social worker and Chief of Police for the city of Orlando is now on a short list for possible running mates for Joe Biden in November.

April Ryan speaks with Rep. Demings about her priorities if she were named as Vice Presidential candidate, which include a federally coordinated response to coronavirus and criminal justice reform.

Click ▶️ to listen to AURN Washington Bureau Chief April Ryan’s White House Report:

Even before this pandemic, too many Americans were struggling to make rent and mortgage payments, or struggling with homelessness.

We need immediate additional emergency support to keep people in their homes. We ALSO need to reform and rebuild America’s housing system.
— Rep. Val Demings (@RepValDemings) July 14, 2020

April Ryan has a unique vantage point as the only Black female reporter covering urban issues from the White House, a position she has held with AURN since the Clinton era. Her position as a White House Correspondent has afforded her heightened insight into the racial sensitivities, issues, and attendant political struggles of our nation. April has written three books; The Presidency in Black & White: My Close-Up View of Three Presidents and Race in America, At Mama's Knee: Mothers and Race in Black and White, and Under Fire: Reporting from the Front Lines of the Trump White House. Twitter: @aprildryan